North Carolina... strategic plan |
Previous | 2 of 5 | Next |
|
small (250x250 max)
medium (500x500 max)
Large
Extra Large
large ( > 500x500)
Full Resolution
|
This page
All
|
2012~2013 Strategic Plan Introduction We take great pride at the North Carolina Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development in the extraordinary spirit of collaboration within our state’s travel industry. Partnerships are driving tourism’s success as the industry helps fuel economic recovery across the state. More than 40,000 North Carolina businesses produce goods and services to support visitor demand and the industry directly employs nearly 200,000 residents. In fact, the leisure and hospitality sector led the state’s employment growth in 2011. Travel and tourism also generates $1.5 billion in state and local tax revenues and research has shown that every dollar the Division invests in statewide tourism advertising produces a return of $10 in new state tax revenues alone. The Division’s new marketing campaign to promote leisure travel launched in March 2012. The “Deeper Connections” message strategy is based on research and represents a natural evolution of our strategic position, which has long been rooted in the state’s natural scenic beauty. Current consumer trends remind us travelers are looking for fulfilling destinations that provide distinctive experiences and lasting memories, and there’s no better place for that than North Carolina. The consumer insight was complemented by input from more than 500 industry leaders from around the state who participated in online surveys and marketing workshops conducted by the Division. The “Deeper Connections” strategy is shaping messaging throughout the Division’s integrated marketing efforts, including the VisitNC.com family of websites that attracted a record 3.87 million web visits in 2011. In 2012-2013, we’re investing more heavily in digital advertising to align with audiences increasingly looking for travel planning inspiration and information online. We invite our industry partners to review this strategic marketing plan and the expanded range of print and digital cooperative advertising programs detailed in the Partner Opportunities section. The consistent support within our state government and travel community have helped North Carolina become the nation’s sixth most visited state. We value your partnership and look forward to working with you to attract more visitors and more visitor spending to North Carolina in the year ahead. Lynn D. Minges Assistant Secretary of Tourism, Marketing and Global Branding North Carolina Department of Commerce Overview MISSION The mission of the North Carolina Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development is to... ...unify and lead the state in developing North Carolina as a major destination... ...for leisure travel, group tours, meetings and conventions, sports events and film production. The Division will develop and execute effective marketing programs to accomplish these goals for the benefit of the travel, film, sports and wine industries; the economy; and the citizens of North Carolina. 2012-2013 Goals • Increase consumer awareness of North Carolina as a travel destination. • Increase consumer inquiries about travel to North Carolina. • Increase market share and visitation to North Carolina. • Increase spending by visitors while in the state. • Increase spending by film projects while in North Carolina. • Increase the number of film-related projects in North Carolina. • Increase the number of cases of North Carolina wines sold. • Assist communities with recruiting and hosting regional sporting events held in North Carolina. • Increase state and local tax revenues. • Increase the number of jobs supported by the tourism, sports, wine and film industries. • Assist communities in tourism product development and with sustainable practices. • Leverage resources to maximize investment of Division budget dollars, with an economical approach to all initiatives. Brand Position North Carolina has built its much envied brand position on insight gained from a sound and consistent research program. Blessed with the highest mountain peaks in the east, 300 miles of pristine barrier islands coastline, vibrant cities and charming small towns, North Carolina is a much desired destination for millions of travelers annually. While the foundation of North Carolina’s brand has long been formed on the state’s reputation as a place of natural, scenic beauty and restful relaxation, brand communications are consistently refreshed to ensure North Carolina remains in step and resonates with consumer trends and interests. While staying true to the brand’s core, current marketing and communications efforts are reaching to establish deeper, more emotional connections with an emphasis on fulfilling travelers’ growing desires for distinctive experiences and lasting memories. North Carolina Brand Mesaging Building on North Carolina’s envied brand position as a place of unrivaled scenic beauty, the Division launched a new message strategy in March 2012 to broaden travelers’ understanding of the state’s captivating beauty by reflecting more of the distinctive places, people, stories, art, flavors and experiences that create deeper, more emotional connections and spark more frequent and longer visits. Current consumer research trends indicate travelers are looking for fulfilling destinations that provide distinctive experiences and lasting memories, and the new “Deeper Connections” message strategy focuses on finding the next level of vacation, relaxation and realization to make trips more meaningful, enriching and enlightening. This consumer insight was complemented by input from more than 500 industry leaders from around the state who participated in online surveys and marketing workshops conducted by the Division. The new messaging strategy and marketing campaign help differentiate the state in a very competitive marketplace by celebrating iconic North Carolina experiences — such as tracing the footsteps of Blackbeard, observing the wild horses of the Outer Banks, tuning in to the state’s rich and varied music heritage, drinking in the scenery on the Blue Ridge Parkway and other routes, pursuing outdoor adventure, cheering for racing legends, golfing across a range of terrains, and savoring the celebrated fare of chefs, winemakers, and craft brewers and distillers that has made North Carolina a top culinary destination. Headline: Only light this captivating could attract such an elusive bear. Headline: Even those who race with wild abandon couldn’t help but settle here. Headline: Some artists travel the world for inspiration others don’t need to. Overview The North Carolina Tourism Call Center, VisitNC.com and the state’s nine Welcome Centers respond to travelers seeking information and personalized tips to plan a North Carolina vacation. In 2011, VisitNC.com received over 3.87 million visits, nearly 30,000 calls came in through 1-800-VISIT NC and Welcome Centers saw over 7.1 million visitors. In 2012-2013, the Division will continue to focus on providing high-quality, persuasive, comprehensive, precise and timely information to inquirers through all resources available to travelers. The 2012 North Carolina Travel Guide features Wrightsville Beach’s Johnnie Mercer pier on its cover. A second cover was customized for a select number of travel guides being distributed for Democratic National Convention attendees. 1-800-VISIT NC Purpose The North Carolina Tourism Call Center is operated in partnership with the North Carolina Departments of Transportation and Correction, with the purpose of ensuring high standards of service for all aspects of visitor contact, from receipt of call through information delivery. Objectives Distribute 600,000 copies of The Official 2012 North Carolina Travel Guide Strategies • Promote onsite informative presentations at the Call Center to keep operators up to date. • Continue to implement efficiencies to maximize return on human and financial resources invested in the Call Center. • Respond to information requests by producing professional, quality publications such as The Official North Carolina Travel Guide. Inquiry Fulfillment VisitNC.com VisitNC.com is a family of sites serving as the comprehensive North Carolina travel-planning source for accurate, compelling and substantive information on all the state offers travelers. This family of sites must constantly evolve to keep pace with emerging technologies, evolving digital standards and trends in consumer behavior. Recent site enhancements include: • Upgraded homepage gallery capabilities. Static, semi-permanent images have been replaced by a collection of up to six dynamic images each linking to timely content within the site. These themes refresh monthly and encourage site visitors to explore deeper and stay longer. • Refreshed homepage layout. As a result of subtle design adjustments, more useful content now appears “above the fold” on most computers and tablets. These enhancements offer site visitors quicker opportunities to dig deeper into the site. In addition, the new layout migrates content from vertical columns into horizontal rows, maximizing the mobile visitor experience. • Greater emphasis on wine, featured events and special offers. Analytics indicate visitors regularly search wine-related terms more than any other keywords on the site. Because of this, a link to the wine journey has been added to the main navigation bar at the top of the homepage. In addition, the new, row-centric layout creates more space to better highlight featured events and special offers, which rotate randomly on the homepage. As a result of these enhancements, partnered with ongoing marketing efforts, the homepage bounce rate is down 19.58 percent and downstream traffic to partner sites is up 12.49 percent compared to the same period the previous year. (Dec. 1, 2010 – Feb. 28, 2011 vs. Dec. 1, 2011 – Feb. 29, 2012) In the coming fiscal year, the Division will seek to enhance the VisitNC.com user experience while maintaining growth in the number of new and return site visits, downstream traffic to partner sites, email subscribers and social media fans and followers. In addition, the Division will aim to streamline content input / sharing capabilities for industry partners. 2012 – 2013 action items include: • Continue to enhance design and usability of VisitNC.com and sister sites. • Maintain performance of industry partner marketing opportunities. • Conduct site usability testing and content audit to inform future design and development. • Streamline existing site content to maximize its discoverability and usefulness to visitors. • Continue development of interest-specific content areas to be used on VisitNC.com and sister sites as well as in e-newsletters, social media, etc. • Develop digital tools that allow easy, one-time submission of events, attractions, lodging, etc. • Optimize design and content for use on tablets, smart phones and other mobile devices. • Evaluate and refresh e-newsletter strategy and subscriber database. • Increase emphasis on user-generated content and social sharing via Facebook, Twitter and the Division’s other social media accounts. VisitNC.com – Social Media In addition to digital, print and broadcast communications efforts, a complementary social media strategy is essential because of its ability to offer direct, unfiltered access to current and prospective travelers. What’s more, consumers increasingly are making decisions based on word-of-mouth not only from friends and family, but also from members of their online community and social networks. North Carolina boasts a strong following across multiple social platforms, and works daily to engage those followers in a way that mobilizes them to become online advocates for tourism throughout the state. Goals • Influence new visits to the state by connecting with consumers online via popular social platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and Pinterest. • Drive traffic to VisitNC.com by extending the North Carolina brand message to social media. • Create opportunities for user-generated content (pictures, videos and reviews) to complement the “deeper connections” brand strategy on VisitNC.com and in social media. Strategies • Identify creative opportunities to extend website content to social media – for example, by complementing music content with a Pandora station or film news with a Pinterest board. • Facilitate daily conversation about ways to make “deeper connections” in North Carolina by posing questions and sharing current news and trivia about the state. • Encourage the submission of user-generated content by creating places for visitors to collaborate – for example, in a Flickr group, on a Pinterest board or as part of a Facebook or Twitter chat. • Evaluate monthly engagement metrics (comments, likes, shares, replies, retweets, repins, etc.) to determine what’s working and adjust social media strategies accordingly. • Monitor the development of new social media platforms to identify brand-appropriate opportunities to establish the Division as a social media leader among state DMOs. Welcome Centers The Division’s nine Welcome Centers promote thousands of tourism-related businesses—attractions, accommodations, events and more—to visitors already in North Carolina who are actively seeking travel information. Located on Interstate highways just inside the state line, each Welcome Center has a statewide focus, with an emphasis on information for visitors traveling a particular interstate corridor. Professional, nationally-certified travel counselors provide efficient, professional and personal customer service in consistently clean, pleasant and modern facilities. 2012-2013 Goals • Enhance the visitors’ experience to North Carolina by constantly providing exceptional hospitality and service. • Provide eficient, professional and personalized customer service in conjunction in clean, pleasant and modern facilities. • Distribute publications from partners, attractions, accommodations and other tourism-related businesses in North Carolina. • Offer attractive publications, such as The Oficial North Carolina Travel Guide, and efectively display partner publications to provide valuable information, scenic photography and informative editorial features for visitors. • Utilize technology, banners, displays and onsite demonstrations to showcase the state’s natural scenic beauty and attractions, aggressively reaching out to attractions to constantly update information. • Display promotional signage to extend Division messaging and encourage travelers to use VisitNC. com and the Toll Free 1-800 VISIT-NC as a resource. • Work productively with local CVBs and chambers of commerce to coordinate and organize tourism events such as Tourism Day celebrations, PIT STOP, Canadian Week and other local events year around. • Work with partners to develop webinars--virtual training programs--to ensure that travel counselors have first-hand knowledge of the state’s attractions at minimal cost to the state and to the partners. • Continue ongoing customer service training • Make hotel reservations, suggest itineraries and promote attractions to extend length of stay and increase visitor expenditures during visits especially during statewide events. • Exchange information with other states and participate in regional and national conferences, such as Southeast Travel Counselors Alliance and Educational Seminar for Tourism Organizations (ESTO), and list-servs to ensure that North Carolina’s Welcome Centers are among the nation’s best by constantly reviewing best practices. • Work to continuously improve sustainable practices at Welcome Centers to reduce operating costs, improve working conditions and customer experience, and serve as an educational tool for visitors. Go to VisitNC.com to identify Welcome Centers across the state. Research Division communications, tourism advocacy and customer service efforts are based on ongoing analysis of relevant research each year. The Division research team works closely with third-party research organizations and government agencies to monitor North Carolina domestic and international visitation. Periodic reports are published regularly on the Tourism Research page on nccommerce.com. Visit the North Carolina Department of Commerce Tourism Research page for current visitation reports. 2012-13 Research Objectives 1. Coordinate, manage and analyze research to monitor and measure domestic and international visitation to North Carolina. TNS TravelsAmerica: • Analysis of visitation trends and visitor volume for North Carolina. • Visitor and visitor party demographics, length of stay and other pertinent characteristics of statewide visitors. • Visitor and visitor party characteristics at the regional level (Coastal, Piedmont, and Mountain). • Market share and volume on a national and regional basis to allow for comparison to competitive destinations. VisaVue/Stats Canada/Office of Travel and Tourism Industries: • Analysis of visitation trends and visitor volume for North Carolina • Visitor and visitor party demographics, length of stay and other pertinent characteristics of Canadian visitors to North Carolina. • Market share on a national basis to allow for comparison to competitive destinations. • Annual statewide visitor spending estimates for overseas and Canadian visitors. • Data on new and emerging markets with visitor potential for North Carolina. Statewide and County Level Visitor Spending Study (TEIM): • Annual statewide visitor spending estimates, employment, wages, and local and state tax revenues directly resulting from visitor spending. • Annual county level visitor spending estimates, employment, wages, and local and state tax revenues directly resulting from visitor spending for all 100 North Carolina counties. Visitation trends to North Carolina including: attractions attendance, airport usage, gas prices, weather/ precipitation, etc. Monitor statewide and regional lodging statistics on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis. 2. Plan, implement, manage and analyze new and timely research to best plan and allocate marketing investment and guide policy decisions. Go to the Research Partner Development Opportunities page Domestic Travelers Comunications Objectives 2012 – 2013 Communications Objectives: • Increase traffic growth to VisitNC family of sites by 5-7%. • Increase downstream traffic to partner sites by 5-8%. • Increase e-newsletter program open rates by 3-5%. • Increase social media engagement (clicks, mentions, likes, etc.) by 5-8%. North Carolina currently ranks as the sixth most visited state in the nation and domestic visitors spent $17 billion here in 2010. The Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development measures success through exposure from broad media coverage, travel inquiries, qualified lead generation and ultimately visitation and travel expenditures to the state. The primary communications objectives for the Division’s efforts include increasing awareness of North Carolina as a premier leisure travel destination, attracting more consumers to VisitNC.com and providing downstream referrals for NC travel industry partners to “close the sale.” The Division invests in a variety of media opportunities to help promote travel and tourism across the state. These vehicles also include cooperative advertising programs that provide travel industry partners with similar opportunities for maximizing exposure for their own destination or property. The Division’s advertising program strives to impact North Carolina’s brand awareness and intent to travel in our key markets of origin. Paid Media Aproach For the first time the media budget will shift to a more digital focus. As a part of this shift we will narrow the list of print partners to include only the strongest titles with a history of providing value to the North Carolina brand and its partner entities. Traditional print will continue to work together with broadened online offerings to create a multi-layered plan that will reach consumers at various levels during their travel planning process. As consumers continue to migrate towards the online world for additional research and eventual purchase, travel included, North Carolina must adapt to remain top-of-mind for consumers. Research from the travel category shows this consumer shift to online for research and purchase to be happening at a rapid pace. According to an eMarketer industry report from November 2011 the number of Americans who will research travel online will reach 117.6 million in 2012, an increase of over 15 million Americans since 2009. Also noted in the eMarketer report, an estimated 98.3 million Americans will book travel online in 2012 versus just 82.6 million in 2009. The report also suggests that there will be $105.4 billion in online leisure/ unmanaged business travel sales in 2012. 2011 travel category research from Google Adwords shows an increase of 34% in travel queries made via Google.com from 2010-2011. The Google Adwords report also reveals that 85% of all travelers researched via search engine, 49% searched online hotel reviews and 80% of affluent travelers comparison shop “always or frequently” online. North Carolina’s media shift is intended to keep the brand in front of potential travelers as they continue to migrate to the web for their travel research. Branded Print The Division’s branded creative units continue to appear in strong, relevant titles delivering the core North Carolina traveler. Females continue to be the primary influence on household travel decisions and these titles reflect her lifestyle and are ideal environments in which to inspire travel planning. Online Throughout the year, digital advertising will play an ever-increasing role in North Carolina’s communications mix. The primary objective is to continue driving traffic to VisitNC.com, in which travel intent can be quantified through robust tracking of specific user activities, such as downstream traffic to partner sites, Travel Guide requests, email subscriptions and sweepstakes participation. Online success metrics will include cost-per-click (CPC) and cost-per-activity (CPA), both measurements of cost-efficient and qualified traffic to VisitNC.com. Strategies Digital efforts will be rooted in a strategic, multi-pronged approach that extends the Division’s presence, supports North Carolina partners and continues to drive learnings across the board: Brand Online • NEW! Annual Brand Display • Seasonal Brand Display • Annual Brand Paid Search (SEM) Brand Online will consist of the following digital campaigns in order to drive cost-efficient and qualified traffic to VisitNC.com. The Division will apply learnings from each campaign to the next in order to maintain momentum and advance performance benchmarks, including publisher, creative and geographical success. NEW ! Annual Brand Display Annual Brand Display will serve as a new initiative to extend the Division’s online display presence across the entire year. Leveraging top-performing publishers from historical campaigns, the Division will be able to support consistently strong partners in addition to earning price efficiencies. Casale Media As a staple and proven performer, the Division will partner with Casale Media to implement a strategic mix of performance-driven and custom audience placements. Based on predictive analysis, robust infrastructure and consumer market research, the leading ad network will allow the Division to tap into key audiences with targeted reach and scale. Additional tactics will also be tested throughout the year in an effort to continuously enhance the annual buy and maximize traffic to VisitNC.com. TripAdvisor As one of the world’s largest travel sites, TripAdvisor provides an effective foundation for the Division to engage users while in the core research and planning mindset. Top-performing placements from historical campaigns, including geographically-focused content pages, will continue to be strengthened across the full year. In addition, the Division will take advantage of opportunities that lend to further testing of both media tactics and creative executions. Seasonal Brand Display Seasonal Brand Display campaigns will supplement Annual Brand presence and provide additional media support during primary seasons as well as other key periods throughout the year. In order to continue successful momentum campaign-over-campaign, the Division will leverage top performers as a baseline for each effort. The publisher mix will then be enhanced with additional partners to provide strategic alignment with seasonal themes and audiences, such as Outdoor, Family Fun and Culinary. All campaigns will be diligently managed and optimized to ensure click efficiencies to VisitNC.com. Annual Brand Paid Search (SEM) The Division will continue to drive traffic to VisitNC.com with the use of search engine marketing. SEM strategy for 2012 includes a few key points: • A shift to spending over 95% of the budget with Google • Basing success on the activities rather than clicks and optimizing to increase activities every month • Implementing campaigns based on the editorial calendar, for example fireplaces in January etc. Online Partner Programs • NEW! Co-Op Display Program • Co-Op Dedicated eBlast Program • Co-Op Sweepstakes eBlast Program A hybrid of targeted-reach vehicles and travel-endemic publishers will be leveraged along with supplemental digital support from print partners in order to build a cohesive and integrated program. Diligent campaign management and ongoing optimizations will lend to healthy test-and-learn practices thus enforcing the primary objective to drive cost-efficient and qualified traffic to VisitNC.com. As the Division’s needs grow, additional digital agents may be incorporated throughout the year, such as lead generation, mobile and paid social media. Dedicated eNewsletters Based on the success of themed eNewsletters, the Division will continue to creatively develop and sell custom cooperative eNewsletters, aligning with the four core themes of the year: Outdoor, Culinary, Family and Special Offers. These eNewsletters will be sold on an individual basis and are not bundled with print. Participation is available throughout the year at a cost of $1,500 per partner with six partners per eNewsletter. Opportunities include: • Family, example lists: We Just Got Back, Meredith Travel, Dunhill Travel etc. Two drops, spring and fall • Outdoor, example lists: InsideOut Media Group, Blue Ridge Outdoors, etc. Two drops, spring and fall • Culinary, example lists: Cooking Light, Food & Wine, etc. Two drops, spring and fall • Special Offers, example lists: Travel-Ticker, Budget Travel, etc. Two drops, spring and fall Public Relations Public relations efforts promote North Carolina as a premier travel destination through implementation of a consistent, targeted, proactive, cost-effective media campaign that integrates, supports and enhances goals and objectives across all Division programs and initiatives. Strategies • Target consumer and trade editorial media contacts to achieve diverse placements and exposure for North Carolina among regional and national audiences. Representative tactics include electronic releases, one-on-one pitching, desk visits, media missions with partners, media familiarization tours and press kit development. • Showcase upcoming events and “What’s New” across the state in eforts targeting short-lead publishers such as newspapers and web outlets and long-lead lifestyle and travel magazines. • Consistently refresh and promote accessibility of new and refined collateral materials for the online media center, such as electronic press kits, B-roll, video, still images and more. • Utilize the latest software to manage media lists, monitor and analyze media coverage and evaluate overall effectiveness of the public relations campaign. • Assist interactive team in expanding social media strategies on VisitNC’s Twitter, Facebook, blog and photo share outlets to: o Extend reach through pass-along activities like retweets and Facebook “feedback” interactions per impression. o Increase grassroots consumer exposure of North Carolina by growing the community of followers and participants. o Drive downstream traffic to promotional content on VisitNC.com. In-State Partnerships The Division balances its emphasis on attracting out-of-state visitors with very effective promotional efforts in-state resulting from ongoing partnerships with the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters, the North Carolina Press Foundation, UNC-TV and Time Warner Cable. Collectively, these efforts generate nearly $4 million in exposure annually for the North Carolina brand and VisitNC.com in print, newspaper, television, radio and online. The Division’s partnership with UNC-TV includes underwriting of the highly-rated weekly show “North Carolina Weekend” that promotes VisitNC. com while showcasing iconic and often undiscovered places, people, attractions and stories all across the state. The Division of Tourism has a unique opportunity to bring North Carolina to the world. With the several overseas and Canadian direct flights daily, North Carolina attracts both corporate and leisure travelers – enough that in 2010 the state ranked 17th in the United States for overseas travelers. The Division has had in-country international representation since 1990, and collaborates with local marketing partners in Canada, the UK and Germany. International visitors on average stay longer and spend more on their holidays – providing new tax dollars to every community they visit. The approach in each market is to influence the potential visitor, both with direct-to-consumer campaigns and via tour operators/travel agents and media. Communications Goal Increase awareness and interest in individual and group international leisure travel to North Carolina. Strategy 1. Directly reach consumers through online/web and public relations marketing efforts; influence international tour operators and travel agents through public relations, tradeshow and partnership development. 2. Continuously renew and refresh content on each international website. 3. Develop new collateral materials – electronic press kit, B-roll and video – to extend the reach of the public relations campaign consistent with Division marketing goals and messages. Increase spending by visitor while in the state. 4. Produce quality research to help guide the Division’s international marketing investments and policy decisions. • Continue to coordinate, manage and analyze research with current contract organizations. • Participate in VisaVue® Travel program to gather broader and more statistically accurate data regarding international visitors’ travel activity in North Carolina. • Study of Canadian Visitors to North Carolina – Continuation of analysis of Canadian visitors to the state, volume estimates and visitor profile. 5. Develop and maintain consumer opt-in database and deliver quarterly eNewsletters, along with mailings to addresses collected through promotions. 6. Work with TravelSouth to promote North Carolina to emerging international markets where we do not have representation through their co-op programs. Go to the International Partner Opportunities page International Travelers Consumer & Trade Strategy Target Market Highlights Canada • North Carolina’s Diverse Travel Product o Sales and media missions to travel trade and media o CAA Travel Show o Ongoing refreshment of qc.visitnc.com content o News and event editorial coverage through PR efforts including monthly themed press releases o Sales and media missions travel trade and media • FIT Product o Partnerships with airlines o Travel agent familiarization tours o Online media campaigns United Kingdom • North Carolina Events o Semi-annual online magazine o News and event editorial coverage through PR efforts including monthly themed press releases • North Carolina’s Diverse Travel Product o Individual and group media familiarization tours o Sales and media missions to travel trade o Continuous renewal of uk.visitnc.com website • FIT Product o Familiarization tours for tour operators o Direct-to-consumer brand marketing campaign o Airline partnerships Germany • North Carolina’s Diverse Travel Product Individual and group media familiarization tours o Pitch targeted story ideas o Continuous renewal of de.visitnc.com website o Quarterly eNewsletters driving traffic to de.visitnc.com • FIT Product o Direct-to-consumer brand marketing campaign o Airline partnerships Overview The travel trade program implements marketing strategies that target travelers through third-party sellers and travel industry trade suppliers. Third-party sellers include: • Tour Operators • Receptive Operators • Travel Agents • Meeting and Convention Planners • Sports Event Rights Holders Communications Goals • Increase travel to the state by attracting group tours, sporting events, meetings and conventions. • Continue to promote North Carolina as a premier location for sporting events. • Enhance North Carolina as a premier destination in the Southeast for meetings and events through development of an inventory of implemented sustainable practices in the tourism industry. Go to the Group and Event Partner Opportunities page Strategy 1. Target travelers through third-party sellers and travel industry trade suppliers with multiple outreach tactics including trade print, tradeshows and eBlasts. 2. Expand North Carolina online marketing programs on VisitNC.com to encourage group travel in North Carolina. 3. Continue to provide sustainable tourism education and resources for local areas, organizations and event owners. 4. Increase awareness of the Blue Ridge Parkway by co-hosting a familiarization tour for AAA and CAA counselors in partnership with Virginia. 5. Coordinate a domestic sales mission reaching tour operators, tour receptive operators and travel agents in key domestic markets (e.g. Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Florida, Alabama, Arkansas and Georgia). 6. Maintain and make publicly available an inventory of sporting event facilities and potential venues across the state on sportsnc.com. 7. Strengthen the sportsnc.com brand and expand, improve and enhance usability and functionality of sportsnc.com. 8. Build relationships with key event planners and participate in these industry tradeshows: Travel, Events and Management in Sports (TEAMS); Amateur Athletic Union (AAU); United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA); National Softball Association (NSA); and National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). 9. Plan, implement and manage new and timely research to understand conditions of the sports industry in North Carolina and how they relate to tourism. 10. Develop a consistent, technologically innovative way of tracking group tour business in North Carolina. 11. Develop and maintain group tour and sports development contact database. 12. Coordinate, manage and analyze data collection to monitor and measure sports-related visitation to North Carolina Group & Event Travel Comunities & Non-Profits The industry relations program communicates the economic benefits of tourism to North Carolina’s residents, policymakers and media. In addition, it optimizes the coordination and communication among North Carolina’s tourism, film, sports and wine partners, including public agencies, distributors and private sector suppliers. The Industry Relations program develops opportunities for professional education, technical assistance, training and product development. NC Communities and Tourism-Related Nonprofits • Continue the Division’s Tourism Resource Assistance Center Program (TRAC), working with industry partners across the state to promote the benefits of working with the Division to maximize the impact of the business of tourism. • Support sustainable eforts to protect, preserve and promote the state’s natural, historic and cultural resources. • Assist communities market and promote the Civil War Trails Program in anticipation of the events that will surround the 150th anniversary of the Civil War in North Carolina, 2011-2015. Focusing on Slavery and emancipation for 2012- 2013. • Continue collaborations between Dept. of Cultural Resources, including African American Heritage Commission, Southern Campaign of the Revolutionary War Heritage Corridor, Civil War 150th events, Highway to History (Highway 70) and Maritime Heritage (Queen Anne’s Revenge, Blackbeard, etc.). • Provide support for various trails, including African American, Music, Folk Heritage, Homegrown Handmade and Literary as well as supporting the Creative Economy including performing arts and artists throughout NC. • Provide support to the National Heritage Area Designation in Eastern NC 40 county region. • Provide support to the Gullah/Geechee Heritage Corridor efforts. • Encourage greater integration with other Division programs and other state agencies (DENR, Dept. of Agriculture, DOT, etc.). • Develop strategic partnerships with federal, state and local agencies to support sustainable tourism efforts. • Continue participation on the Appalachian Regional Commission’s Tourism Council and its activities. • Work with communities and organizations interested in promoting the growth and development of the tourism programs, product and business in their communities. • Ofer technical assistance or aid in identifying appropriate resources for community initiatives, programs and workshops. • Maintain presence in community development initiatives and ofer technical support for those communities who have identified tourism development as a key strategy (NC STEP and 21st Century Community program, strategic planning, trails development, heritage tourism). • Leverage the state’s marketing eforts by providing assistance with marketing projects at the local level. • Promote the Division’s cooperative marketing programs to communities. • Continue to support and provide technical assistance the efforts of the Whirligig Park project • Work with partners to provide sustainable tourism development education and resources. • Work with partners to promote agritourism eforts and introduce “farmers/fishermen to table” initiative to promote local food product. • Provide marketing opportunities and technical assistance to communities in their eforts to market themselves as retirement destinations, including attending trade shows, such as “AARP’s Life @ 50+,” e-marketing and other opportunities. Industry Relations Partners & Boards • Provide value to North Carolina industry partners/boards by providing high-quality, accurate and timely information including research, reports, information, education, feedback on successful partnerships, outputs and outcomes. • Provide timely information to North Carolina travel industry partners to keep them abreast of policy issues, market trends and programs within the state by hosting the annual North Carolina Governor’s Conference on Tourism and the Mid-Year Marketing Update. • Continue weekly electronic distribution of NewsLink eNewsletter to provide information to keep partners abreast of policy issues, market trends and programs within the state, in addition to reporting media coverage, and study data regarding its usage to maximize its value. • Generate story placement around key Division-sponsored events about the important economic contribution of North Carolina’s tourism industry including visitor spending estimates and industry research, the Governor’s Conference, the release of the Official North Carolina Travel Guide, and Tourism Day. • Monitor legislation and policy issues impacting the state’s tourism, film, sports and wine industries; keep industry partners informed through electronic communications, including emails and nccommerce.com. • Provide media clips of successful public relations eforts to gain earned media in domestic and international publications: • Distribute media clips to industry partners when they are mentioned in stories. • Provide the circulation and advertising value of media clips to industry partners so they can see the economic value of the Division’s efforts. • Produce and electronically distribute a strategic marketing plan and annual report for key industry partners. • Work with partners to develop relevant and applicable pollution prevention and waste minimization tools, such as resource sheets, case studies and financial incentives for the Division’s presence on nccommerce.com. • Ofer a variety of partner programs from print and interactive media to public relations and sweepstakes designed to unify and expand the North Carolina message in a cost-effective manner. • Actively engage the Travel and Tourism Board, the Interagency Tourism Council and other organizations to help support the work of the Division and policy issues that affect the industries served. Citizens, Media & Policymakers • Provide accurate and timely information to the media, citizens and policymakers. Measure, monitor and report outcomes via quality research reports and analyses. • Make key tourism research such as visitor volume; market share; visitor demographics; visitor spending; related jobs, wage and tax revenues; and economic impact figures readily available online or upon request. • Coordinate events during National Tourism Week and North Carolina Tourism Day to emphasize tourism’s important contribution to the state’s economy to the General Assembly, state government and local officials, North Carolina residents and the media. • Make data available that demonstrates tourism’s important contribution to the state’s economy to the General Assembly, state government and local officials, North Carolina residents and the media. • Provide media clips of successful public relations efforts to gain earned media in domestic and international publications: o Distribute these media clips to policymakers and partners providing the circulation and advertising value so they can see the economic value of the Division’s efforts on behalf of their districts. • Continue to coordinate, manage and analyze research with contract organizations to provide critical information about the benefits of tourism to the state’s economy. o The Economic Impact of Travel on North Carolina – Calculates the impact of travel on North Carolina based on visitor expenditures. o Produce and electronically distribute an annual report that outlines results achieved in all program areas. • Support statewide economic development efforts by working with appropriate groups to provide tourism research data • Help educate federal government oficials in Washington, D.C., of the impact of tourism on the North Carolina economy. Inform the policymakers about key legislation important to the tourism industry on a local and national basis and work with the US Travel Association to impact legislation. • Generate story placement around key Division-sponsored events about the important economic contribution of North Carolina’s tourism industry, including visitor spending estimates and industry research, the Governor’s Conference, the release of the Official North Carolina Travel Guide, and Tourism Day. North Carolina Wine Tourism Goals Increase North Carolina wine tourism by increasing awareness of North Carolina wineries and wines, thereby generating more visits and increasing tax revenue for the state. Strategies • Utilize an integrated mix of tactics to promote visitation to North Carolina wineries and AVAs. o Promote North Carolina wineries and increase awareness, interest and visitation through outdoor, print and online advertising. o Enhance, produce and distribute the North Carolina Winery Guide to welcome centers, tourism authorities, wine industry and consumers. o Promote wineries in the North Carolina Travel Guide that is distributed to welcome centers, tourism authorities and consumers. o Offer cooperative advertising and promotional opportunities to winery partners. o Integrate wine news into the Division’s e-newsletters to consumer subscribers. o Regularly refresh and enhance the content on VisitNC. com to provide relevant information to travelers and wine enthusiasts, and improve downstream traffic referrals to winery partner sites. o Develop a mobile website to complement and enhance VisitNC.com for wine travelers. o Utilize VisitNC.com to drive additional traffic to visitncwine.com and act as a resource for more detailed travel-related information including lodging, attractions and events. o Utilize and expand social media to promote North Carolina wine on the VisitNC.com Facebook page and @visitncwine Twitter feed. • Effectively leverage earned media and public relations messaging to influence consumers in key markets to visit North Carolina wineries. o Generate earned media promoting North Carolina wine and wineries in consumer publications. o Distribute wine-themed press releases focusing on North Carolina wine, events and news. o Enhance collateral materials, including press kits and videos, to extend the reach of the public relations campaign consistent with the Division’s marketing goals and messages. o Target and host wine and culinary journalists on media familiarization tours and individual visits to North Carolina wineries. o Host media tasting events, and participate in media missions and various culinary industry meetings. Wine NC Film The mission of the NC Film Office is to Create High-Paying, Quality Jobs by market the entire state as a location for film and commercial production and promoting the use of North Carolina support services and professionals. The Film Office is a client-driven program that services international, out-of- state production companies, in-state production companies, and North Carolina support services and crew. Audiences Motion Picture Studios Film, Television and Commercial Producers Local Film Professionals Goals • Increase spending by film projects while in North Carolina. • Increase the number of film-related projects in North Carolina. • Increase the number of film production days in North Carolina. Strategies • Recruit and support film and television productions as a vital component of the state’s economic development plan to create and maintain jobs and industry support services, increasing film production, film-related expenditures and film industry jobs. o Grow strong and trusted relationships with Hollywood studios and decision-makers through sales missions and participation in Los Angeles-area industry events and well-placed print and online advertising. o Actively market North Carolina’s new 25 percent Motion Picture Incentive. With the new incentive structure, the state’s target market is television series and motion pictures with a budget range of $5 million to $50 million. o Actively recruit the studios’ television and independent divisions as well as independent companies with whom they have relationships. o Focus energy on a myriad of new independent companies emerging outside the studio system and commercial production houses. o Provide assistance to film production companies seeking information about filmmaking in the state. o Assist film scouts within the state and work in cooperation with regional film commissions. o Provide assistance and information as needed while film crews are on location within the state. o Promote the state’s film incentives as a means of securing additional film activity in the state. o Promote the North Carolina film industry through a strategic print, online and promotional campaign. o Anticipate market trends in the industry and also in areas of social responsibility such as educating constituents regarding eco-friendly practices and humane treatment of animals while filming. Film • Provide world-class service to North Carolina’s crew base with citizen-only web portals to post their credentials, learn about upcoming job opportunities and respond to their requests to better enable them to maintain their North Carolina residence and job status. o Maintain and communicate information about local crews, goods, support services and stage space. o Work to increase local infrastructure and build the North Carolina film community. • Track and monitor film activity within the state by capturing data on the impact of film projects on North Carolina and share this accordingly with key stakeholders. Measures include: o Annual economic impact o Intent-to-film forms o Production days o Phone calls to the state o Various marketing reports produced by Reel Scout database • Track and communicate key policy issues that may have impact on filmmaking activity in the state. Go to the Film Partner Opportunities page Go to the NC Regional Film Offices Contacts Directory page An integrated view of the Division of Tourism’s print and digital media calendars are available to download below. Also offered here for download is a current listing of industry events. Download links for Calendars. 2012-2013 Print Media Calendar 2012-2013 Digital Media Calendar 2012-2013 Industry Events Calendar Calendars Partner Co-Op Packages The Division develops and offers NC travel destinations and organizations affordable co-op advertising programs. Cooperative advertising and marketing programs are evaluated and selected based on their ability to effectively and efficiently reach North Carolina’s target consumer. These programs combine paid media placement in a variety of platforms relevant to the Division’s core audience. New for 2012- 2013 are expanded digital display and eBlast co-op programs. The Division also offers customized advertising programs on VisitNC.com with discounts based on volume. Traditional Directory-Style Print Co-ops: Traditional directory-style cooperative print opportunities will be available again in 2012/2013 to round out the areas of partner interest. Individual Reader Service listings for each partner will generate qualified leads from each of the following publications: Travel Meredith 4 page insert: May 2013 • Better Homes and Gardens / Family Circle • Combined Circulation- 1,498,600 (GA, SC Eastern TN, VA, FL) • 12 directory partners, 1 full page partner • Directory partner investment- $5,000 • Full page partner investment- $27,000 Better Homes and Gardens co-op spread: October 2012 • Circulation- 1,031,000 (GA, SC, Eastern TN, VA, FL) • 6 directory partners • Directory partner investment- $4,500 Southern Living co-op spreads: September 2012, May 2013 • Circulation- 1,150,000 (GA, SC, TN, VA, FL) • 6 directory partners (September) • 12 directory partners (May) • Directory partner investment- $4,500 Coastal Living co-op spread: April 2013 • Circulation- 450,000 (Eastern) • 6 directory partners • Directory partner investment- $2,000 O, The Oprah Magazine co-op spreads: October 2012, May 2013 • Circulation- 700,000 (Eastern) • 12 directory partners per run • Directory partner investment- $3,500 Garden & Gun co-op spreads: Aug/Sep 2012, Apr/May 2013 • Circulation- 250,000 (Full run, 80% southeast) • 6 directory partners per run • Directory partner investment- $2,000 Partner Opportunities Outside co-op spreads: September 2012, April 2013 • Circulation- 235,000 (Eastern) • 6 directory partners per run • Directory partner investment- $2,000 Download a media calendar detailing each print co-op opportunity and additional information. Contact: Brooks Luquire brooks.luquire@lgaadv.com 704.552.6565 Crandall Turner crandall.turner@lgaadv.com 704.552.6565 Digital Co-Op Packages Based on the ever-evolving media landscape, a new cooperative program will allow partners to collaborate with the Division and extend collective reach across a strategic mix of online publishers. Each co-branded banner unit will be wrapped in a North Carolina brand message and feature one or multiple partners, depending on the selected buy. All co-branded banners will present user options to drive traffic to respective partner sites as well as VisitNC.com, in which click efficiencies will be monitored to generate maximum performance. Benefits to partners include: • Leveraged buying power through Division and partner collaboration • Strength of shared brands and creative assets • Media services – negotiations and placement • Creative services – concepting, design and development • Campaign management – set-up, trafficking and optimizations • Campaign analytics – robust tracking and reporting The following programs have been structured to offer options that cater to varying partner needs in the form of investment level, publisher type, the number of participating partners, creative format and campaign timing: Casale Media As one of the Division’s strong performers from online Brand campaigns, Casale Media will provide geo-targeted exposure across their leading network of premium-quality sites. Standard creative will feature one partner per monthly flight in conjunction with the North Carolina brand. Investment Details Monthly Partner Investment: $3,000 Per Partner * Estimated Monthly Impressions: 766,667 Per Partner Partner eCPM: $3.91 Media Details # Partners: 1 Partner per Monthly Flight ** Placement: Run-of-Network (RON) Geo-Targets: FL, GA, SC, TN, VA, AL, MD, NJ, NY, OH, PA, TX Sample Sites: FoodNetwork.com, Trails.com, TravelAndLeisure.com, TravelersDigest.com, NBC.com Creative Details Single-Partner Content: 1 Partner Plus VisitNC Brand Creative Format: Standard Creative Creative Units: 160x600, 300x250, 728x90 Madden Media Madden Media is a strategic partner that will provide geo-targeted and demographically-targeted exposure across their network of premium-quality sites. Rich media creative will feature five partners per flight in conjunction with the North Carolina brand. Investment Details Monthly Partner Investment: $6,400 Per Partner * Estimated Monthly Impressions: 2,557,000 Per Partner Partner eCPM: $2.50 Media Details # Partners: 5 Partners per Flight ** Available Flights: April through Mid-May (6 Weeks) Placement: Run-of-Network (RON) Geo-Targets: FL, GA, SC, TN, VA, AL, MD, NJ, NY, OH, PA, TX Sample Sites: Oprah.com, USAToday.com, Accuweather.com, FoxNews.com Creative Details Multi-Partner Content: Up to 5 Partners Plus VisitNC Brand Creative Format: Expandable & Non-Expandable Rich Media Creative Units: Multiple Rich Media Units (Specific Specs TBD) TripAdvisor As one of the world’s largest travel sites, TripAdvisor will provide geo-targeted exposure within its North Carolina Content pages. Rich media creative will feature three partners per monthly flight in conjunction with the North Carolina brand. Investment Details Monthly Partner Investment: $5,500 Per Partner * Estimated Monthly Impressions: 937,500 Per Partner Partner eCPM: $5.87 Media Details # Partners: 3 Partners per Monthly Flight ** Available Flights: August, September, October, March, April, May Placement: North Carolina Content Pages Geo-Targets: FL, GA, SC, TN, VA, AL, MD, NJ, NY, OH, PA, TX Creative Details Multi-Partner Content: Up to 3 Partners Plus VisitNC Brand Creative Format: Rich Media Creative Ad Units: Expandable 300x250, Expandable 970x66 * Partner Investments include the following services: media, creative, campaign management & campaign analytics ** Flights will be sold on a first-come, first-serve basis Co-Op eBlasts Based on the success of themed Co-Op eBlasts, the Division will continue to creatively develop and sell custom cooperative eBlasts, aligning with the four core themes of the year: Outdoor, Culinary, Family and Special Offers. These eBlasts will be sold on an individual basis and are not bundled with print. Participation is available throughout the year at a cost of $1,500 per partner with six partners per eBlasts. Opportunities include: • Family, example lists: We Just Got Back, Meredith Travel, Dunhill Travel etc. Two drops, spring and fall • Outdoor, example lists: InsideOut Media Group, Blue Ridge Outdoors, etc. Two drops, spring and fall • Culinary, example lists: Cooking Light, Food & Wine, etc. Two drops, spring and fall • Special Offers, example lists: Travel-Ticker, Budget Travel, etc. Two drops, spring and fall Theme Example Lists Fall 2012 Spring 2013 Family Meredith Travel, We Just Got Back $1,500 $1,500 Outdoor InsideOut Media Group $1,500 $1,500 Culinary Cooking Light, Food & Wine $1,500 $1,500 Special Offers Travel-Ticker, Budget Travel $1,500 $1,500 Contact: Brooks Luquire brooks.luquire@lgaadv.com 704.552.6565 Crandall Turner crandall.turner@lgaadv.com 704.552.6565 VisitNC.com Programs Consumer interest and traffic to the VisitNC.com family of sites grew more than five percent in 2011 to a record 3.87 million visits. Ongoing site enhancements continue to focus on improving consumer engagement and increasing downstream referrals to partner sites. Advertising opportunities on VisitNC.com continue to expand and are created as a cost-effective outlet to help industry partners extend marketing messages while creating synergy with the North Carolina brand. Below are the VisitNC.com “a la carte” program offerings. If you are interested in multiple programs on VisitNC.com and/or in conjunction with the Division’s print and digital opportunities, please contact Brooks Luquire at brooks.luquire@lgaadv.com or 704.552.6565 to discuss program packages. Display Advertising 2011 Highlights: 120 Display Ads 9,779,921 Impressions 0.61% Average Click-Thru Rate 1. Journey Display Ads There are currently seventeen “main” Journeys on VisitNC.com which provide specific information to visitors based on interests, theme or geographic location. Each “main” Journey is then broken down into sub-Journeys (currently over 80 available) where your display ad would reside within relevant content selected by the partner. Display ads will be optimized to achieve the best results and will also run in an even rotation in related “main” Journeys as added value. 2. Product Page Display Ads Product Pages on VisitNC.com are the locations where visitors can order the Travel Guide, download a brochure, subscribe to a newsletter, download an itinerary or conduct a search. These pages attract an engaged visitor with a clear “intent to travel” and are the most highly trafficked pages on VisitNC.com. There are icons located on every page throughout the site linking visitors to the Product Pages. 3. Exclusive Display Ads Partners have the opportunity to own 100% Share of Voice in a select list of sub-Journeys on VisitNC.com. This opportunity enables partners to rotate up to three display ads within the Journey that will display each time the selected Journey is visited. Exclusive display ads ensure that your message is embedded in content that is relevant to the partner each time it is visited on the site. Pricing Models Duration Sub-Journeys Product Pages Exclusive Annual $3,000 $9,000 $9,000 6 Months $1,500 $5,000 $5,000 3 Months $750 $3,000 $3,000 Note: all pricing includes complimentary ad creation. Virtual Brochures 2011 Highlights: 79 Brochures 65,998 Downloads Partners have the opportunity to expand beyond the traditional distribution of their rack brochures via the Virtual Brochure program on VisitNC.com. Brochures are featured in the highly trafficked “All Brochures” product pages and will receive added value within relevant Journeys, providing multiple touch points for site visitors to instantly download your travel planning content. Time Frame Cost Annual $900 6 Months $550 3 Months $300 Featured Events 2011 Highlights: 124 Featured Events 213,942 Views 27,456 Click-Thrus Tourism partners have the opportunity to call more attention to their events and festivals via VisitNC’s paid advertising placement for featured listings. This cost-effective opportunity enables partners to provide timely event information throughout multiple prominent areas on the site, including the homepage and Journeys. In addition, featured events receive valuable placement in the Division’s weekly events newsletter distributed to over 75,000 subscribers. Featured event listings are available in 30-day increments at a cost of $150 per event. Video 2011 Highlights: 183 Videos 215,736 Total Views Advertorial Videos – The Division offers partners the ability to have advertorial videos produced in a short-format style to be featured on VisitNC.com and on the partner’s site. Partners have dual ownership of the final product with the Division and will receive the following elements on VisitNC.com: • Headline and 50 words of copy directly below the video • Billboard at the end of the video with partner information Advertorial Videos are available for $6,500 per video Special Offers 2011 Highlights: 94 Special Offers 57,808 Offer Views 24,189 Offer Click-Thrus Partners have the opportunity to promote special North Carolina travel offers and packages to interested visitors on the VisitNC homepage, in a dedicated Offers section on the site and throughout relevant Journeys. Partners participating in the Special Offers program will also be included in a monthly e-newsletter distributed out to over 45,000 subscribers. Special Offers are available in 60-day increments at a cost of $250 per offer. Sweepstakes 2011 Highlights: 12 Participating Partners 184,827 Entries 23,738 Leads Generated Partners will continue to have the opportunity to feature sweepstakes promotions on the homepage of VisitNC on a monthly basis. This program continues to be one of the largest drivers of qualified leads for partners on the site based on the premium brand exposure and support that is carried through the site and the Division’s other tools. In addition to display ads driving traffic to the promotion throughout the site, partner sweepstakes are supported by two monthly e-blasts – one distributed to VisitNC’s database of more than 175,000 subscribers and a second paid e-blast to roughly 300,000 subscribers. Homepage Sweepstakes are available monthly at a cost of $3,000 plus the travel prize package. Golf sweepstakes are also available to partners and will be featured on internal golf pages within VisitNC.com for two months and via paid eBlast support. Golf sweepstakes are available at a cost of $2,000 plus the travel prize package. Sponsored eBlasts The Division is now offering partners the opportunity to sponsor their popular eBlasts. Participating partners will be able to communicate their message via prominent display branding within each eBlasts. This is a great new opportunity for partners to reach an engaged audience who have shown interest in learning more about what North Carolina has to offer. Sponsored eBlasts will be sold on a monthly basis at the various costs listed below. eBlasts Distribution List Size Cost NCin3 Monthly (1x) 175,000 $1,000 Featured Events Weekly (4x) 75,000 $1,000 Special Offers Monthly (1x) 45,000 $500 Golf Monthly Monthly (1x) 20,000 $250 Contact: Brooks Luquire brooks.luquire@lgaadv.com 704.552.6565 Crandall Turner crandall.turner@lgaadv.com 704.552.6565 Travel Guide The Division publishes 600,000 Travel Guides annually featuring statewide attractions and accommodation listings, along with contact information for various organizations. Travel Guides are available at the state’s nine Welcome Centers, Visitor Centers, the Division’s Call Center, VisitNC.com and also distributed at targeted travel-related shows. Media advertising rates for the 2013 North Carolina Travel Guide will be posted soon. Contact: Journal Communications (800) 333-8842 Regional Representatives: Mountains Mary Ann Stafford mstafford@jnlcom.com Piedmont Deshaun Goodrich dgoodrich@jnlcom.com Coast Scott vonCannon svoncannon@jnlcom.com Corporate Robin Robertson rrobertson@jnlcom.com Public Relations Division Press Releases The Division’s PR department regularly sends out press releases to media throughout the nation and to outlets in Canada, the UK and Germany. Partners are welcome to submit news on their products and events to be included in releases. Releases are distributed electronically to more than 3,000 media outlets. Newspaper and Calendar editor information Goal: Promote upcoming events and new offerings to short-lead publications such as newspapers and web outlets. Long-lead releases Goal: Promote upcoming events and new offerings to long-lead publications such as magazines. “What’s New” releases Goal: Promote new and upcoming major product additions throughout the state. Press Kit updates Goal: Provide content-based information to media. Media Room on VisitNC.com Media.VisitNC.com, the Division’s media room, contains the most current releases, images and contact information for media outlets. Partners are welcome to submit their press releases for possible inclusion on the site; select releases will be used to fuel the Division’s RSS feeds. Goal: Provide outlet for news releases from partners on media site. North Carolina Photography/Video Throughout the year, the Division shoots updated images of the tourism product throughout the state. Partners are able to host photo shoots and assist with logistical arrangements. Goal: Provide images for media outlets to use in writing about the state. Group Media Trips (Familiarization Tours) The Division’s PR department hosts several group media familiarization tours in North Carolina to generate positive editorial placement. Interested partners can co-host these trips with the Division by coordinating the local hosting of the groups. Trips sponsored by the state must include more than one county and would preferably have three counties represented. German Press Group. UK Press Group Canadian Press Group Domestic Press Groups Individual Media Visits Each year the Division’s PR department hosts more than 50 individual domestic and international journalists in North Carolina to generate positive editorial placement. Interested partners can co-host these individual journalists with the Division by coordinating their local hosting needs. Visits sponsored by the state must include more than one county and would preferably have three counties represented. Goal: Generate editorial coverage in key domestic and international markets. Media Missions The Division will host a media event in a major market each year to educate the media about travel to North Carolina. These missions include a reception where partners can get to know media from the location as well as desk-side visits to other media outlets. Partner costs TBD. Contact: Margo Metzger Public Relations Manager mmetzger@nccommerce.com (919) 733-7420 Visitor Services The state’s nine interstate Welcome Centers, along with the Division’s Inquiry and Fulfillment Centers, comprise Visitor Services. The Division’s nine Welcome Centers promote thousands of tourism-related businesses—attractions, accommodations, events and more—to visitors already in North Carolina who are actively seeking travel information. The Inquiry and Fulfillment Centers, models of efficiency in state government, are housed at the North Carolina Correctional Institute for Women in Raleigh. Inmate telephone operators provide information to consumers considering travel to North Carolina. In addition, they package and distribute the state’s travel publications to potential visitors from around the world. The opportunities listed below have been designated as cooperative initiatives between the Division and Industry Partners. Familiarization Tours for Welcome Center Travel Counselors Goal: To showcase sponsor city or county so Welcome Center travel counselors will have firsthand knowledge to share with visitors. Brochure Distribution Goal: To distribute sponsor’s travel literature to visitors at the nine Welcome Centers. No cost. Audio/Video Presentations Goal: To provide CDs from local musicians or DVDs/VHS tapes promoting tourism destinations in sponsor’s area for audiences at Welcome Centers or for training purposes at the Call Center. No cost. Armchair Familiarization Tours Goal: To showcase sponsor’s city or county to the 1-800-VISIT NC operators at the North Carolina Correctional Institute for Women to keep them abreast of new developments in sponsor’s area. No cost. Division Office Lobby Displays Goal: To temporarily display crafts or other local products at the Division office in Raleigh to showcase North Carolina destinations and activities. No cost. Hands-On Demonstrations/Performances Goal: To have local artisans, dancers or musicians demonstrate their craft or perform in person for travelers at Welcome Centers. No cost. Welcome Center Displays Goal: To temporarily display North Carolina crafts or other local products at Welcome Centers to generate interest among travelers. No cost. Tourism Day Goal: To participate in the individual Welcome Centers’ annual Tourism Day celebrations during National Tourism Week to highlight the importance of the tourism industry in North Carolina and to thank travelers for visiting North Carolina. No cost. Contact Wally Wazan Visitor Services Program Manager (919) 715-2098 wwazan@nccommerce.com International The International Trade Marketing Program includes the development, coordination and implementation of comprehensive tourism marketing strategies in German-speaking markets, the UK and Canada. The program supports all international airline routes and targets both leisure and group tour sales in Europe and Canada through third-party sellers, travel industry trade suppliers and various consumer promotions. The opportunities listed below have been designated as cooperative initiatives between the Division and its industry partners. ITB The whole world meets at ITB Berlin. The combination of trade exhibition, public exhibition and the biggest professional convention worldwide attracts tens of thousands of visitors, exhibitors and media representatives every year. North Carolina will be part of the Deep South and the Carolinas area. Appointments will be made with key tour operators, travel agents and media professionals. UK Sales Mission Events throughout the region to include tour operators, travel agents, consumers and media. The mission will be four days of appointments. U.S. Travel Association’s International Pow Wow U.S. Travel Association’s International Pow Wow is the travel industry’s premier international marketplace and is the largest generator of Visit USA travel. In just three days of intensive pre-scheduled business appointments, more than 1,000 U.S. travel organizations from every region of the USA, representing all industry category components and more than 1,500 international and domestic buyers from more than 70 countries, conduct business negotiations that result in the booking of over $3 billion in future Visit USA travel. For more information on the show, go to www.tia.org. Other International Promotional Opportunities German Sales Mission In each city, tour operator workshops will be scheduled during the day in order to meet key tour operator product managers while the evenings will target travel agents through an interactive training seminar. The mission is scheduled to take four working days. Canadian Sales Mission 4 days of sales calls and events for tour operators, CAA offices and media in Toronto and Montreal. Contact: Heidi Walters International Marketing Manager hwalters@nccommerce.com (919) 715-0672 Group & Event Travel The Travel Trade Development program implements marketing strategies that target travelers through third-party sellers and travel industry trade suppliers. The opportunities listed below have been designated as cooperative initiatives between the Division and its industry partners. Cost TBD. Blue Ridge Parkway Area A/CA Familiarization Tour Date: TBD Place: TBD Domestic Marketing Sales Mission Date: Sept. 24-27, 2012 Place: New Jersey and Pennsylvania The Division encourages economic development through the promotion and recruitment of sporting events across the state involving amateur, collegiate and professional sports organizations. The opportunity listed below has been designated as a cooperative initiative between the Division and its industry partners. TEAMS 2012 (Travel, Events and Management in Sports) Date: TBD Place: TBD Web Site: teamsconference.com Booth space on behalf of North Carolina as a destination has been reserved for this sports trade show and is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Each attendee will be responsible for travel expenses and registration fees. Contact: Kristi Driver Domestic Marketing Manager kdriver@nccommerce.com (919) 733-7413 Tourism Development The Tourism Development program works to develop tourism initiatives statewide, foster sustainable tourism development, and promote economic growth by providing financial, technical and educational assistance to the travel industry. The opportunity listed below has been designated as a cooperative initiative between the Division and its industry partners. Tourism Resource Assistance Center (TRAC ) At each TRAC session, Representatives from the Division will also be on hand to discuss services they can provide businesses including strategic planning, assistance with identifying funding sources, and as liaisons with other local, state, and federal agencies. There is no charge to attend, and no reservation is required. Contact: André Nabors Tourism Development Manager anabors@nccommerce.com (919)733-7502 Eleanor Talley Industry Relations Manager etalley@nccommerce.com (919)733-0869 Research Research Partner Opportunities The opportunity listed below has been designated as a cooperative effort between the Division and its industry partners. VisaVue® Travel Date: Ongoing Partners: CVBs with need for data on international visitors to their destinations Goal: To gather broader and more statistically accurate data regarding international visitors’ travel activity in North Carolina. Contact: Marlise Taylor Director of Research mtaylor@nccommerce.com (919) 733-7278 Film The mission of the Film Office is to promote North Carolina film locations and resources for filmmakers, and effectively assist in fostering movie, television, commercial and new media production to increase jobs and revenue statewide. Listed below are cooperative initiatives between the Division, North Carolina regional film commission affiliates, and industry partners. Association of Film Commissioners International (AFCI) Cineposium Maintain membership with the official professional organization for film commissioners and continue educational development through seminars, training and networking throughout the year. Sundance Film Festival Offers the opportunity to promote North Carolina’s incentives and network at this foremost showcase for independent films. SXSW Offers the opportunity to promote North Carolina’s incentives and network at this foremost showcase for independent film and interactive professionals. AFCI Locations Tradeshow/Producer’s Guild of America More than 300 film commissions worldwide gather at the AFCI’s anchor event in a trade show venue. The North Carolina delegation has the opportunity to connect with more than 1,000 Hollywood film professionals to discuss incentives and locations. Tribeca Film Festival Offers the opportunity to promote North Carolina’s incentives and network at this foremost showcase for independent films. Cannes Film Festival Offers the opportunity to promote North Carolina’s incentives and network at this foremost showcase for international films. Film Sales Missions Meet with leading executives at major Hollywood film and television studios, and also independent filmmakers, to promote North Carolina’s incentives, locations and infrastructure for production in the state. Contact: Aaron Syrett Director, North Carolina Film Office aaron@ncfilm.com (919) 733-9900 Division Office Mailing Address: 4324 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-4324 Shipping Address: 301 N. Wilmington St. Raleigh, NC 27601 Ph: (919) 733-4171 Ph: (919) 733-4172 Fax: (919) 733-8582 Warehouse Fax: (919) 661-4860 Call Center/Inquiry: Ph: 1-800-VISIT NC Fax: (919) 715-3097 Industry website: NCCommerce.com Consumer website: VisitNC.com Administration Lynn Minges Assistant Secretary for Tourism, Marketing & Global Branding (919) 733-4171 lminges@nccommerce.com Amy Berenson Assistant to the Assistant Secretary (919) 733-7550 aberenson@nccommerce.com Bryan Gupton Director of Operations & Industry Relations (919) 733-7552 bgupton@nccommerce.com Wit Tuttell Director of Tourism Marketing (919) 733-7472 wtuttell@nccommerce.com Martha Slate Business Manager (919) 733-7416 mslate@nccommerce.com Juli Cooney Assistant to the Director of Operations (919) 733-7334 jcooney@nccommerce.com Dickens Sanchez Assistant to the Director of Tourism Marketing (919) 715-2091 dsanchez@nccommerce.com Research Marlise Taylor Tourism Research Manager (919) 733-7278 mtaylor@nccommerce.com Sustainable Tourism Alex Naar Coordinator, Sustainable Tourism Outreach (919) 715-3782 anaar@nccommerce.com Community Relations and Outreach Karen Mann Community Outreach Manager (919) 715-1034 kmann@nccommerce.com Eleanor Talley Industry Relations Manager (919) 733-0869 etalley@nccommerce.com Public Relations Margo Metzger Public Relations Manager mmetzger@nccommerce.com (919) 733-7420 Suzanne Brown Public Relations Program Assistant (919) 715-6703 sbrown@nccommerce.com North Carolina Division of Tourism, Film & Sports Development Directories Bill Russ Photographer (919) 733-7242 bruss@nccommerce.com Domestic/International Travel Contacts Domestic Marketing/Group Sports/Sports Kristi Driver Group Travel Manager (919) 733-7413 kdriver@nccommerce.com International Marketing Heidi Walters Manager of International Marketing (919) 715-6702 hwalters@nccommerce.com Canada Charmaine Singh Vision Co. Vice President (416) 341-2474 ext. 252 99 Blue Jays Way Suite 300 Toronto, CA M5V9G9 charmaines@visioncompanies.com Germany Rita Hille Managing Director Wiechmann Tourism Service 011-49-69-25538-0 Scheidswaldstr. 73 D-60385 Frankfurt am Main rita@weichmann.de United Kingdom Sam Hancock Account Manager Hills Balfour Synergy Colechurch House, 1 London Bridge Walk, London, SE1 2SX Ph: 011-44-20-7367-0900 Fax: 011-44-20-7407-3810 samuelh@hillsbalfoursynergy.com Publications/Extranet Contacts Kathy Prickett Publications Manager (919) 733-8302 kprickett@nccommerce.com Nicolle Jones Database Manager (919) 733-7501 njones@nccommerce.com Wine Tourism Contact Justin Furr Director of Wine & Grape Marketing and Development (919) 715-9463 (919) 715-WINE Fax: (919) 733-8582 jfurr@nccommerce.com North Carolina Film Contacts Aaron Syrett North Carolina Film Office Director (919) 733-5016 asyrett@nccommerce.com Guy Gaster Production Services Executive (919) 715-2958 ggaster@nccommerce.com Cheryl Mauro Assistant to the Film Office Director (919) 715-7517 cmauro@nccommerce.com Physical Address: North Carolina Film Office 301 N. Wilmington Street Raleigh, North Carolina USA 27601 Mailing Address: North Carolina Film Office 4324 Mail Service Center Raleigh, North Carolina USA 27699-4324 (919) 733-9900 Fax: (919) 715-0151 Tourism Development André Nabors Tourism Development Manager (919) 733-7502 anabors@nccommerce.com Visitor Services Wally Wazan Visitor Services Program Manager (919) 715-2098 wwazan@nccommerce.com Cynthia Ferguson Visitor Services Program Assistant (919) 733-7479 cferguson@nccommerce.com Larry Strickland Warehouse Supervisor Phone: (919) 662-4493 Fax: (919) 661-4860 Physical Address: 3221 Durham Dr. Raleigh, NC 27603 lstrickland@nccommerce.com Inquiry Jade Feliciano Fulfillment Supervisor 919) 715-5759 jfeliciano@nccommerce.com Teresa Smith Toll-Free Operator Supervisor (919) 715-5900 tlsmith@nccommerce.com Sports Development Contacts Chuck Hobgood (919) 361-1133, Ext. 5 Physical Address: 301 N. Wilmington St. Raleigh, NC 27601 Mailing Address: 4324 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-4324 chuck.hobgood@ncsports.org Travel & Tourism Board 2012 Member Contact List Josh Bass Currituck Chamber of Commerce Term Ends: 12/31/2012 Apptd By: House Speaker Sabrina Bengel City of New Bern Term Ends: 12/31/2012 Apptd By: Senate President Pro Tempore Rolf Blizzard, Chairman Turnpike Properties Term Ends: Ex Officio Apptd By: NC T&T Coalition Chris Cavanaugh Magellan Strategy Group Term Ends: Governor’s Term Apptd By: Governor Robert “Randy” Cobb Abercrombie Oil Co., Inc. Term Ends: 12/31/2013 Apptd By: NC Petroleum Marketers Assn. Secretary J. Keith Crisco NC Department of Commerce Term Ends: Ex Officio (Non-Voting) Apptd By: NC Dept. of Commerce Teresa Damiano Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority Term Ends: 12/31/2010 Apptd By: Senate President Pro Tempore S. Lewis Ebert NC Chamber Term Ends: Ex Officio Apptd By: NC Chamber Denny Edwards Greater Raleigh CVB Term Ends: 12/31/2013 Apptd By: DMANC Rep. Phillip Haire NC House of Representatives Term Ends: 12/31/2012 Apptd By: House Speaker Rep. Susi Hamilton NC House of Representatives Term Ends: 12/31/2012 Apptd By: House Speaker Sen. Ralph Hise North Carolina Senate Term Ends: 12/31/2012 Apptd By: Senate President Pro Tempore Kimberly “Kim” Hufham Wilmington and Beaches CVB Term Ends: Ex Officio Apptd By: NCTIA Chris Humphrey Allstate Insurance / ERA Humphrey Realty Group Term Ends: 12/31/2012 Apptd By: Senate President Pro Tempore Vimal Kolappa East Coast Hospitality, LLC Term Ends: Governor’s Term Apptd By: Governor John Randal “Randy” Kolls Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club Term Ends: 12/31/2013 Apptd By: NCRLA Donna Carpenter Cabarrus CVB Term Ends: 12/31/2013 Apptd By: DMANC Lynn Minges NC Department of Commerce Term Ends: Ex Officio (Non-Voting) Apptd By: NC Dept. of Commerce Robert M. O’Halloran East Carolina University Term Ends: 12/31/2013 Apptd By: NCRLA Davin Olsen Gale Force Sports & Entertainment/Carolina Hurricanes Term Ends: 12/31/2012 Apptd By: House Speaker Sen. Jean Preston North Carolina Senate Term Ends: 12/31/2012 Apptd By: Senate President Pro Tempore Lynn Lewis Washington TDA Term Ends: 12/31/2013 Apptd By: NCTIA Joan H. Pulley Carteret County Chamber of Commerce Term Ends: 12/31/2012 Apptd By: House Speaker James “Jamie” Reibel Sargasso Travels’, Inc., Phideaux Fishing Term Ends: 12/31/2011 Apptd By: NCWU Leonard Rigsbee Cap-N-Squid Boatworks Term Ends: 12/31/2011 Apptd By: NCWU Tom Ruff The Biltmore Company Term Ends: 12/31/2011 Apptd By: NCRLA Susan Spangler The Greensboro Carousel Term Ends: Governor’s Term Apptd By: Governor Steve Thanhauser The Angus Barn Term Ends: 12/31/2013 Apptd By: NCRLA Mitzi York Brunswick County Tourism Development Authority Term Ends: 12/31/2013 Apptd By: DMANC Welcome Center Managers Margaret Ritchey I-26 East Welcome Ctr. Manager Physical Address: I-26 at Mile Marker 68 Columbus, NC 28722 Mailing Address: PO Box 249 Columbus, NC 28722 (828) 894-2120 mritchey@nccommerce.com Vickie Sealock I-26 West Welcome Ctr. Manager Physical Address: I-26 at Mile Marker 6 Mars Hill, NC 28754 Mailing Address: PO Box 1210 Mars Hill, NC 28754 (828) 689-4257 vsealock@nccommerce.com Tina Evans I-40 West Welcome Ctr. Manager Physical Address: I-40 at Mile Marker 10 Waynesville, NC 28786 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 809 Waynesville, NC 28786 (828) 627-6206 tevans@nccommerce.com Oma Boyd I-77 North Welcome Ctr. Manager Physical Address: I-77 at Mile Marker 105 Dobson, NC 27017 Mailing Address: PO Box 1066 Dobson, NC 27017 (336) 320-2181 oboyd@nccommerce.com Louie Comer I-77 South Welcome Ctr. Manager Physical Address: I-77 at Mile Marker 1 Charlotte, NC 28241-0724 Mailing Address: PO Box 410724 Charlotte, NC 28241 (704) 588-2660 ccomer@nccommerce.com Mary Perkinson I-85 North Welcome Ctr. Manager Physical Address: I-85 at Mile Marker 231 Norlina, NC 27563 Mailing Address: PO Box 156 Norlina, NC 27563 (252) 456-3236 mperkinson@nccommerce.com Linda Cabaniss I-85 South Welcome Ctr. Manager Physical Address: I-85 at Mile Marker 2 Kings Mountain, NC 28086 Mailing Address: 5 Northbound I-85 Kings Mountain, NC 28086 (704) 937-7861 lcabiness@nccommerce.com Frieda Day I-95 North Welcome Ctr. Manager Physical Address: 1 I-95 Southbound Hwy Pleasant Hill, NC 27866 Mailing Address: PO Box 52 Roanoke Rapids, NC 27870 (252) 537-3365 fday@nccommerce.com Kat Littleturtle I-95 South Welcome Ctr. Manager Physical Address: I-95 at Mile Marker 5 Rowland, NC 28383 Mailing Address: Box 999 Rowland, NC 28383 (910) 422-8314 klittleturtle@nccommerce.com Marketing Partners Advertising, Public Relations & VisitNC.com Directory Luquire George Andrews (LGA) 4201 Congress Street, Suite 400 Charlotte, NC 28209 (704) 552-6565 (phone) (704) 552-1972 (fax) www.lgaadv.com Client Services Peggy Brookhouse President / Partner brookhouse@lgaadv.com Scott Gilmore VP, Management Supervisor scott.gilmore@lgaadv.com Brooks Luquire Senior Account Executive brooks.luquire@lgaadv.com Jane Duncan Senior Account Executive jane.duncan@lgaadv.com Interactive Lisa Enders Account Executive lisa.enders@lgaadv.com Gretchen Voth Social Media/Public Relations gretchen.voth@lgaadv.com Partner Programs Crandall Turner Partner Programs Manager crandall.turner@lgaadv.com Public Relations Maureen Haley Account Supervisor maureen.haley@aboutdci.com Karyl Leigh Barnes Senior Vice President/Partner karyl.barnes@aboutdci.com North Carolina Travel Guide Journal Communications, Inc. 725 Cool Springs Blvd Suite 400 Franklin, TN 37067 Ph: (615) 771-0080 or 800-333-8842 Fax: (615) 771-0079 Susan Chappell Vice President/Travel Publishing schappell@jnlcom.com Scott Templeton Senior Vice President/Business Development stempleton@jnlcom.com Jarek Swekosky Vice President/Sales jswekosky@jnlcom.com Robin Robertson Senior Integrated Media Manager rrobertson@jnlcom.com Mary Ann Stafford Executive Integrated Media Manager mstafford@jnlcom.com Deshaun Goodrich Senior Integrated Media Manager dgoodrich@jnlcom.com Scott vonCannon Integrated Media Manager svoncannon@jnlcom.com County Contacts Click here to download the North Carolina 100 County Contact Directory. Film Contacts North Carolina Regional Film Offices Directory Charlotte Regional Film Commission Beth Petty, Director 550 South Caldwell Street, Suite 760 Charlotte, North Carolina 28202 USA Ph: (704) 347-8942 Fax: (704) 347-8981 bpetty@charlottefilm.com www.charlotteusa.com Triangle Research Film Commission Rob Shoaf P.O. Box 13041 Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 Ph: (919) 682-2222 Fax: (919) 682- 3322 triangleregionalfilm@gmail.com www.durham-nc.com/film Eastern NC Film Commission Frank Dooley, Director c/o IBX Ventures 740 Greenville Blvd. Suit 400 #175 Greenville, NC 27858 Ph: (252) 531-4012 fdooley@filmeast.net www.filmeast.net/portal/news.php Piedmont Triad Film Commission Rebecca Clark, Director 7025 Albert Pick Drive, Suite 303 Greensboro, NC 27409 Ph: (336) 393-0001 Fax: (336) 668-3749 rebecca@piedmontfilm.com www.piedmontfilm.com Western NC Film Commission Pam Lewis 134 Wright Brothers Way Fletcher, NC 28732 Ph: (828) 687-7234 Fax: (828) 687-7552 film@awnc.org www.wncfilm.com Wilmington Regional Film Commission Johnny Griffin, Director 1223 North 23rd Street Wilmington, NC 28405 Ph: (910) 343-3456 Fax: (910) 343-3457 jgriffin@wilmingtonfilm.com www.wilmingtonfilm.com Wine Contacts North Carolina Wine Directory Administration Justin Furr Director of Wine Marketing 919-715-9463 Fax: 919-733-8582 jfurr@nccommerce.com Physical Address: 301 N. Wilmington St. Raleigh, NC 27601 Mailing Address: 4324 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-4324 Consumer website: VisitNCwine.com Vinifera Advisory Committee Ed Cook Chair Term: 9/1/11-8/31/12 Director Wine & Beer, Harris Teeter Jerry Douglas Term: 9/1/11-8/31/12 President, Biltmore Winery Mark Friszolowski Term: 9/1/11-8/31/13 Winemaker/General Manager, Childress Vineyards Buddy Norwood Term: 9/1/11-8/31/13 Senior VP Administration, Shelton Vineyards Karen Ray Vice Chair Term: 9/1/11-8/31/13 Former NC House Rep. 95th district, Iredell County Muscadine Advisory Committee Bill Hatcher Term: 9/1/11-8/31/13 Vice President, Duplin Wine Cellars Bob Hinnant Term: 9/1/11-8/31/12 Owner, Hinnant Family Vineyards Phil Nordan Chair Term: 9/1/11-8/31/13 Owner, Treehouse Vineyards Dan Smith Vice Chair Term: 9/1/11-8/31/13 Owner, Cypress Bend Vineyards William Yost Term: 9/1/11-8/31/12 Owner, Cauble Creek Vineyards
Object Description
Description
Title | North Carolina... strategic plan |
Other Title | North Carolina... tourism update |
Date | 2012 |
Description | 2012/2013 |
Digital Characteristics-A | 2 MB; 44 p. |
Digital Format | application/pdf |
Full Text | 2012~2013 Strategic Plan Introduction We take great pride at the North Carolina Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development in the extraordinary spirit of collaboration within our state’s travel industry. Partnerships are driving tourism’s success as the industry helps fuel economic recovery across the state. More than 40,000 North Carolina businesses produce goods and services to support visitor demand and the industry directly employs nearly 200,000 residents. In fact, the leisure and hospitality sector led the state’s employment growth in 2011. Travel and tourism also generates $1.5 billion in state and local tax revenues and research has shown that every dollar the Division invests in statewide tourism advertising produces a return of $10 in new state tax revenues alone. The Division’s new marketing campaign to promote leisure travel launched in March 2012. The “Deeper Connections” message strategy is based on research and represents a natural evolution of our strategic position, which has long been rooted in the state’s natural scenic beauty. Current consumer trends remind us travelers are looking for fulfilling destinations that provide distinctive experiences and lasting memories, and there’s no better place for that than North Carolina. The consumer insight was complemented by input from more than 500 industry leaders from around the state who participated in online surveys and marketing workshops conducted by the Division. The “Deeper Connections” strategy is shaping messaging throughout the Division’s integrated marketing efforts, including the VisitNC.com family of websites that attracted a record 3.87 million web visits in 2011. In 2012-2013, we’re investing more heavily in digital advertising to align with audiences increasingly looking for travel planning inspiration and information online. We invite our industry partners to review this strategic marketing plan and the expanded range of print and digital cooperative advertising programs detailed in the Partner Opportunities section. The consistent support within our state government and travel community have helped North Carolina become the nation’s sixth most visited state. We value your partnership and look forward to working with you to attract more visitors and more visitor spending to North Carolina in the year ahead. Lynn D. Minges Assistant Secretary of Tourism, Marketing and Global Branding North Carolina Department of Commerce Overview MISSION The mission of the North Carolina Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development is to... ...unify and lead the state in developing North Carolina as a major destination... ...for leisure travel, group tours, meetings and conventions, sports events and film production. The Division will develop and execute effective marketing programs to accomplish these goals for the benefit of the travel, film, sports and wine industries; the economy; and the citizens of North Carolina. 2012-2013 Goals • Increase consumer awareness of North Carolina as a travel destination. • Increase consumer inquiries about travel to North Carolina. • Increase market share and visitation to North Carolina. • Increase spending by visitors while in the state. • Increase spending by film projects while in North Carolina. • Increase the number of film-related projects in North Carolina. • Increase the number of cases of North Carolina wines sold. • Assist communities with recruiting and hosting regional sporting events held in North Carolina. • Increase state and local tax revenues. • Increase the number of jobs supported by the tourism, sports, wine and film industries. • Assist communities in tourism product development and with sustainable practices. • Leverage resources to maximize investment of Division budget dollars, with an economical approach to all initiatives. Brand Position North Carolina has built its much envied brand position on insight gained from a sound and consistent research program. Blessed with the highest mountain peaks in the east, 300 miles of pristine barrier islands coastline, vibrant cities and charming small towns, North Carolina is a much desired destination for millions of travelers annually. While the foundation of North Carolina’s brand has long been formed on the state’s reputation as a place of natural, scenic beauty and restful relaxation, brand communications are consistently refreshed to ensure North Carolina remains in step and resonates with consumer trends and interests. While staying true to the brand’s core, current marketing and communications efforts are reaching to establish deeper, more emotional connections with an emphasis on fulfilling travelers’ growing desires for distinctive experiences and lasting memories. North Carolina Brand Mesaging Building on North Carolina’s envied brand position as a place of unrivaled scenic beauty, the Division launched a new message strategy in March 2012 to broaden travelers’ understanding of the state’s captivating beauty by reflecting more of the distinctive places, people, stories, art, flavors and experiences that create deeper, more emotional connections and spark more frequent and longer visits. Current consumer research trends indicate travelers are looking for fulfilling destinations that provide distinctive experiences and lasting memories, and the new “Deeper Connections” message strategy focuses on finding the next level of vacation, relaxation and realization to make trips more meaningful, enriching and enlightening. This consumer insight was complemented by input from more than 500 industry leaders from around the state who participated in online surveys and marketing workshops conducted by the Division. The new messaging strategy and marketing campaign help differentiate the state in a very competitive marketplace by celebrating iconic North Carolina experiences — such as tracing the footsteps of Blackbeard, observing the wild horses of the Outer Banks, tuning in to the state’s rich and varied music heritage, drinking in the scenery on the Blue Ridge Parkway and other routes, pursuing outdoor adventure, cheering for racing legends, golfing across a range of terrains, and savoring the celebrated fare of chefs, winemakers, and craft brewers and distillers that has made North Carolina a top culinary destination. Headline: Only light this captivating could attract such an elusive bear. Headline: Even those who race with wild abandon couldn’t help but settle here. Headline: Some artists travel the world for inspiration others don’t need to. Overview The North Carolina Tourism Call Center, VisitNC.com and the state’s nine Welcome Centers respond to travelers seeking information and personalized tips to plan a North Carolina vacation. In 2011, VisitNC.com received over 3.87 million visits, nearly 30,000 calls came in through 1-800-VISIT NC and Welcome Centers saw over 7.1 million visitors. In 2012-2013, the Division will continue to focus on providing high-quality, persuasive, comprehensive, precise and timely information to inquirers through all resources available to travelers. The 2012 North Carolina Travel Guide features Wrightsville Beach’s Johnnie Mercer pier on its cover. A second cover was customized for a select number of travel guides being distributed for Democratic National Convention attendees. 1-800-VISIT NC Purpose The North Carolina Tourism Call Center is operated in partnership with the North Carolina Departments of Transportation and Correction, with the purpose of ensuring high standards of service for all aspects of visitor contact, from receipt of call through information delivery. Objectives Distribute 600,000 copies of The Official 2012 North Carolina Travel Guide Strategies • Promote onsite informative presentations at the Call Center to keep operators up to date. • Continue to implement efficiencies to maximize return on human and financial resources invested in the Call Center. • Respond to information requests by producing professional, quality publications such as The Official North Carolina Travel Guide. Inquiry Fulfillment VisitNC.com VisitNC.com is a family of sites serving as the comprehensive North Carolina travel-planning source for accurate, compelling and substantive information on all the state offers travelers. This family of sites must constantly evolve to keep pace with emerging technologies, evolving digital standards and trends in consumer behavior. Recent site enhancements include: • Upgraded homepage gallery capabilities. Static, semi-permanent images have been replaced by a collection of up to six dynamic images each linking to timely content within the site. These themes refresh monthly and encourage site visitors to explore deeper and stay longer. • Refreshed homepage layout. As a result of subtle design adjustments, more useful content now appears “above the fold” on most computers and tablets. These enhancements offer site visitors quicker opportunities to dig deeper into the site. In addition, the new layout migrates content from vertical columns into horizontal rows, maximizing the mobile visitor experience. • Greater emphasis on wine, featured events and special offers. Analytics indicate visitors regularly search wine-related terms more than any other keywords on the site. Because of this, a link to the wine journey has been added to the main navigation bar at the top of the homepage. In addition, the new, row-centric layout creates more space to better highlight featured events and special offers, which rotate randomly on the homepage. As a result of these enhancements, partnered with ongoing marketing efforts, the homepage bounce rate is down 19.58 percent and downstream traffic to partner sites is up 12.49 percent compared to the same period the previous year. (Dec. 1, 2010 – Feb. 28, 2011 vs. Dec. 1, 2011 – Feb. 29, 2012) In the coming fiscal year, the Division will seek to enhance the VisitNC.com user experience while maintaining growth in the number of new and return site visits, downstream traffic to partner sites, email subscribers and social media fans and followers. In addition, the Division will aim to streamline content input / sharing capabilities for industry partners. 2012 – 2013 action items include: • Continue to enhance design and usability of VisitNC.com and sister sites. • Maintain performance of industry partner marketing opportunities. • Conduct site usability testing and content audit to inform future design and development. • Streamline existing site content to maximize its discoverability and usefulness to visitors. • Continue development of interest-specific content areas to be used on VisitNC.com and sister sites as well as in e-newsletters, social media, etc. • Develop digital tools that allow easy, one-time submission of events, attractions, lodging, etc. • Optimize design and content for use on tablets, smart phones and other mobile devices. • Evaluate and refresh e-newsletter strategy and subscriber database. • Increase emphasis on user-generated content and social sharing via Facebook, Twitter and the Division’s other social media accounts. VisitNC.com – Social Media In addition to digital, print and broadcast communications efforts, a complementary social media strategy is essential because of its ability to offer direct, unfiltered access to current and prospective travelers. What’s more, consumers increasingly are making decisions based on word-of-mouth not only from friends and family, but also from members of their online community and social networks. North Carolina boasts a strong following across multiple social platforms, and works daily to engage those followers in a way that mobilizes them to become online advocates for tourism throughout the state. Goals • Influence new visits to the state by connecting with consumers online via popular social platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and Pinterest. • Drive traffic to VisitNC.com by extending the North Carolina brand message to social media. • Create opportunities for user-generated content (pictures, videos and reviews) to complement the “deeper connections” brand strategy on VisitNC.com and in social media. Strategies • Identify creative opportunities to extend website content to social media – for example, by complementing music content with a Pandora station or film news with a Pinterest board. • Facilitate daily conversation about ways to make “deeper connections” in North Carolina by posing questions and sharing current news and trivia about the state. • Encourage the submission of user-generated content by creating places for visitors to collaborate – for example, in a Flickr group, on a Pinterest board or as part of a Facebook or Twitter chat. • Evaluate monthly engagement metrics (comments, likes, shares, replies, retweets, repins, etc.) to determine what’s working and adjust social media strategies accordingly. • Monitor the development of new social media platforms to identify brand-appropriate opportunities to establish the Division as a social media leader among state DMOs. Welcome Centers The Division’s nine Welcome Centers promote thousands of tourism-related businesses—attractions, accommodations, events and more—to visitors already in North Carolina who are actively seeking travel information. Located on Interstate highways just inside the state line, each Welcome Center has a statewide focus, with an emphasis on information for visitors traveling a particular interstate corridor. Professional, nationally-certified travel counselors provide efficient, professional and personal customer service in consistently clean, pleasant and modern facilities. 2012-2013 Goals • Enhance the visitors’ experience to North Carolina by constantly providing exceptional hospitality and service. • Provide eficient, professional and personalized customer service in conjunction in clean, pleasant and modern facilities. • Distribute publications from partners, attractions, accommodations and other tourism-related businesses in North Carolina. • Offer attractive publications, such as The Oficial North Carolina Travel Guide, and efectively display partner publications to provide valuable information, scenic photography and informative editorial features for visitors. • Utilize technology, banners, displays and onsite demonstrations to showcase the state’s natural scenic beauty and attractions, aggressively reaching out to attractions to constantly update information. • Display promotional signage to extend Division messaging and encourage travelers to use VisitNC. com and the Toll Free 1-800 VISIT-NC as a resource. • Work productively with local CVBs and chambers of commerce to coordinate and organize tourism events such as Tourism Day celebrations, PIT STOP, Canadian Week and other local events year around. • Work with partners to develop webinars--virtual training programs--to ensure that travel counselors have first-hand knowledge of the state’s attractions at minimal cost to the state and to the partners. • Continue ongoing customer service training • Make hotel reservations, suggest itineraries and promote attractions to extend length of stay and increase visitor expenditures during visits especially during statewide events. • Exchange information with other states and participate in regional and national conferences, such as Southeast Travel Counselors Alliance and Educational Seminar for Tourism Organizations (ESTO), and list-servs to ensure that North Carolina’s Welcome Centers are among the nation’s best by constantly reviewing best practices. • Work to continuously improve sustainable practices at Welcome Centers to reduce operating costs, improve working conditions and customer experience, and serve as an educational tool for visitors. Go to VisitNC.com to identify Welcome Centers across the state. Research Division communications, tourism advocacy and customer service efforts are based on ongoing analysis of relevant research each year. The Division research team works closely with third-party research organizations and government agencies to monitor North Carolina domestic and international visitation. Periodic reports are published regularly on the Tourism Research page on nccommerce.com. Visit the North Carolina Department of Commerce Tourism Research page for current visitation reports. 2012-13 Research Objectives 1. Coordinate, manage and analyze research to monitor and measure domestic and international visitation to North Carolina. TNS TravelsAmerica: • Analysis of visitation trends and visitor volume for North Carolina. • Visitor and visitor party demographics, length of stay and other pertinent characteristics of statewide visitors. • Visitor and visitor party characteristics at the regional level (Coastal, Piedmont, and Mountain). • Market share and volume on a national and regional basis to allow for comparison to competitive destinations. VisaVue/Stats Canada/Office of Travel and Tourism Industries: • Analysis of visitation trends and visitor volume for North Carolina • Visitor and visitor party demographics, length of stay and other pertinent characteristics of Canadian visitors to North Carolina. • Market share on a national basis to allow for comparison to competitive destinations. • Annual statewide visitor spending estimates for overseas and Canadian visitors. • Data on new and emerging markets with visitor potential for North Carolina. Statewide and County Level Visitor Spending Study (TEIM): • Annual statewide visitor spending estimates, employment, wages, and local and state tax revenues directly resulting from visitor spending. • Annual county level visitor spending estimates, employment, wages, and local and state tax revenues directly resulting from visitor spending for all 100 North Carolina counties. Visitation trends to North Carolina including: attractions attendance, airport usage, gas prices, weather/ precipitation, etc. Monitor statewide and regional lodging statistics on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis. 2. Plan, implement, manage and analyze new and timely research to best plan and allocate marketing investment and guide policy decisions. Go to the Research Partner Development Opportunities page Domestic Travelers Comunications Objectives 2012 – 2013 Communications Objectives: • Increase traffic growth to VisitNC family of sites by 5-7%. • Increase downstream traffic to partner sites by 5-8%. • Increase e-newsletter program open rates by 3-5%. • Increase social media engagement (clicks, mentions, likes, etc.) by 5-8%. North Carolina currently ranks as the sixth most visited state in the nation and domestic visitors spent $17 billion here in 2010. The Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development measures success through exposure from broad media coverage, travel inquiries, qualified lead generation and ultimately visitation and travel expenditures to the state. The primary communications objectives for the Division’s efforts include increasing awareness of North Carolina as a premier leisure travel destination, attracting more consumers to VisitNC.com and providing downstream referrals for NC travel industry partners to “close the sale.” The Division invests in a variety of media opportunities to help promote travel and tourism across the state. These vehicles also include cooperative advertising programs that provide travel industry partners with similar opportunities for maximizing exposure for their own destination or property. The Division’s advertising program strives to impact North Carolina’s brand awareness and intent to travel in our key markets of origin. Paid Media Aproach For the first time the media budget will shift to a more digital focus. As a part of this shift we will narrow the list of print partners to include only the strongest titles with a history of providing value to the North Carolina brand and its partner entities. Traditional print will continue to work together with broadened online offerings to create a multi-layered plan that will reach consumers at various levels during their travel planning process. As consumers continue to migrate towards the online world for additional research and eventual purchase, travel included, North Carolina must adapt to remain top-of-mind for consumers. Research from the travel category shows this consumer shift to online for research and purchase to be happening at a rapid pace. According to an eMarketer industry report from November 2011 the number of Americans who will research travel online will reach 117.6 million in 2012, an increase of over 15 million Americans since 2009. Also noted in the eMarketer report, an estimated 98.3 million Americans will book travel online in 2012 versus just 82.6 million in 2009. The report also suggests that there will be $105.4 billion in online leisure/ unmanaged business travel sales in 2012. 2011 travel category research from Google Adwords shows an increase of 34% in travel queries made via Google.com from 2010-2011. The Google Adwords report also reveals that 85% of all travelers researched via search engine, 49% searched online hotel reviews and 80% of affluent travelers comparison shop “always or frequently” online. North Carolina’s media shift is intended to keep the brand in front of potential travelers as they continue to migrate to the web for their travel research. Branded Print The Division’s branded creative units continue to appear in strong, relevant titles delivering the core North Carolina traveler. Females continue to be the primary influence on household travel decisions and these titles reflect her lifestyle and are ideal environments in which to inspire travel planning. Online Throughout the year, digital advertising will play an ever-increasing role in North Carolina’s communications mix. The primary objective is to continue driving traffic to VisitNC.com, in which travel intent can be quantified through robust tracking of specific user activities, such as downstream traffic to partner sites, Travel Guide requests, email subscriptions and sweepstakes participation. Online success metrics will include cost-per-click (CPC) and cost-per-activity (CPA), both measurements of cost-efficient and qualified traffic to VisitNC.com. Strategies Digital efforts will be rooted in a strategic, multi-pronged approach that extends the Division’s presence, supports North Carolina partners and continues to drive learnings across the board: Brand Online • NEW! Annual Brand Display • Seasonal Brand Display • Annual Brand Paid Search (SEM) Brand Online will consist of the following digital campaigns in order to drive cost-efficient and qualified traffic to VisitNC.com. The Division will apply learnings from each campaign to the next in order to maintain momentum and advance performance benchmarks, including publisher, creative and geographical success. NEW ! Annual Brand Display Annual Brand Display will serve as a new initiative to extend the Division’s online display presence across the entire year. Leveraging top-performing publishers from historical campaigns, the Division will be able to support consistently strong partners in addition to earning price efficiencies. Casale Media As a staple and proven performer, the Division will partner with Casale Media to implement a strategic mix of performance-driven and custom audience placements. Based on predictive analysis, robust infrastructure and consumer market research, the leading ad network will allow the Division to tap into key audiences with targeted reach and scale. Additional tactics will also be tested throughout the year in an effort to continuously enhance the annual buy and maximize traffic to VisitNC.com. TripAdvisor As one of the world’s largest travel sites, TripAdvisor provides an effective foundation for the Division to engage users while in the core research and planning mindset. Top-performing placements from historical campaigns, including geographically-focused content pages, will continue to be strengthened across the full year. In addition, the Division will take advantage of opportunities that lend to further testing of both media tactics and creative executions. Seasonal Brand Display Seasonal Brand Display campaigns will supplement Annual Brand presence and provide additional media support during primary seasons as well as other key periods throughout the year. In order to continue successful momentum campaign-over-campaign, the Division will leverage top performers as a baseline for each effort. The publisher mix will then be enhanced with additional partners to provide strategic alignment with seasonal themes and audiences, such as Outdoor, Family Fun and Culinary. All campaigns will be diligently managed and optimized to ensure click efficiencies to VisitNC.com. Annual Brand Paid Search (SEM) The Division will continue to drive traffic to VisitNC.com with the use of search engine marketing. SEM strategy for 2012 includes a few key points: • A shift to spending over 95% of the budget with Google • Basing success on the activities rather than clicks and optimizing to increase activities every month • Implementing campaigns based on the editorial calendar, for example fireplaces in January etc. Online Partner Programs • NEW! Co-Op Display Program • Co-Op Dedicated eBlast Program • Co-Op Sweepstakes eBlast Program A hybrid of targeted-reach vehicles and travel-endemic publishers will be leveraged along with supplemental digital support from print partners in order to build a cohesive and integrated program. Diligent campaign management and ongoing optimizations will lend to healthy test-and-learn practices thus enforcing the primary objective to drive cost-efficient and qualified traffic to VisitNC.com. As the Division’s needs grow, additional digital agents may be incorporated throughout the year, such as lead generation, mobile and paid social media. Dedicated eNewsletters Based on the success of themed eNewsletters, the Division will continue to creatively develop and sell custom cooperative eNewsletters, aligning with the four core themes of the year: Outdoor, Culinary, Family and Special Offers. These eNewsletters will be sold on an individual basis and are not bundled with print. Participation is available throughout the year at a cost of $1,500 per partner with six partners per eNewsletter. Opportunities include: • Family, example lists: We Just Got Back, Meredith Travel, Dunhill Travel etc. Two drops, spring and fall • Outdoor, example lists: InsideOut Media Group, Blue Ridge Outdoors, etc. Two drops, spring and fall • Culinary, example lists: Cooking Light, Food & Wine, etc. Two drops, spring and fall • Special Offers, example lists: Travel-Ticker, Budget Travel, etc. Two drops, spring and fall Public Relations Public relations efforts promote North Carolina as a premier travel destination through implementation of a consistent, targeted, proactive, cost-effective media campaign that integrates, supports and enhances goals and objectives across all Division programs and initiatives. Strategies • Target consumer and trade editorial media contacts to achieve diverse placements and exposure for North Carolina among regional and national audiences. Representative tactics include electronic releases, one-on-one pitching, desk visits, media missions with partners, media familiarization tours and press kit development. • Showcase upcoming events and “What’s New” across the state in eforts targeting short-lead publishers such as newspapers and web outlets and long-lead lifestyle and travel magazines. • Consistently refresh and promote accessibility of new and refined collateral materials for the online media center, such as electronic press kits, B-roll, video, still images and more. • Utilize the latest software to manage media lists, monitor and analyze media coverage and evaluate overall effectiveness of the public relations campaign. • Assist interactive team in expanding social media strategies on VisitNC’s Twitter, Facebook, blog and photo share outlets to: o Extend reach through pass-along activities like retweets and Facebook “feedback” interactions per impression. o Increase grassroots consumer exposure of North Carolina by growing the community of followers and participants. o Drive downstream traffic to promotional content on VisitNC.com. In-State Partnerships The Division balances its emphasis on attracting out-of-state visitors with very effective promotional efforts in-state resulting from ongoing partnerships with the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters, the North Carolina Press Foundation, UNC-TV and Time Warner Cable. Collectively, these efforts generate nearly $4 million in exposure annually for the North Carolina brand and VisitNC.com in print, newspaper, television, radio and online. The Division’s partnership with UNC-TV includes underwriting of the highly-rated weekly show “North Carolina Weekend” that promotes VisitNC. com while showcasing iconic and often undiscovered places, people, attractions and stories all across the state. The Division of Tourism has a unique opportunity to bring North Carolina to the world. With the several overseas and Canadian direct flights daily, North Carolina attracts both corporate and leisure travelers – enough that in 2010 the state ranked 17th in the United States for overseas travelers. The Division has had in-country international representation since 1990, and collaborates with local marketing partners in Canada, the UK and Germany. International visitors on average stay longer and spend more on their holidays – providing new tax dollars to every community they visit. The approach in each market is to influence the potential visitor, both with direct-to-consumer campaigns and via tour operators/travel agents and media. Communications Goal Increase awareness and interest in individual and group international leisure travel to North Carolina. Strategy 1. Directly reach consumers through online/web and public relations marketing efforts; influence international tour operators and travel agents through public relations, tradeshow and partnership development. 2. Continuously renew and refresh content on each international website. 3. Develop new collateral materials – electronic press kit, B-roll and video – to extend the reach of the public relations campaign consistent with Division marketing goals and messages. Increase spending by visitor while in the state. 4. Produce quality research to help guide the Division’s international marketing investments and policy decisions. • Continue to coordinate, manage and analyze research with current contract organizations. • Participate in VisaVue® Travel program to gather broader and more statistically accurate data regarding international visitors’ travel activity in North Carolina. • Study of Canadian Visitors to North Carolina – Continuation of analysis of Canadian visitors to the state, volume estimates and visitor profile. 5. Develop and maintain consumer opt-in database and deliver quarterly eNewsletters, along with mailings to addresses collected through promotions. 6. Work with TravelSouth to promote North Carolina to emerging international markets where we do not have representation through their co-op programs. Go to the International Partner Opportunities page International Travelers Consumer & Trade Strategy Target Market Highlights Canada • North Carolina’s Diverse Travel Product o Sales and media missions to travel trade and media o CAA Travel Show o Ongoing refreshment of qc.visitnc.com content o News and event editorial coverage through PR efforts including monthly themed press releases o Sales and media missions travel trade and media • FIT Product o Partnerships with airlines o Travel agent familiarization tours o Online media campaigns United Kingdom • North Carolina Events o Semi-annual online magazine o News and event editorial coverage through PR efforts including monthly themed press releases • North Carolina’s Diverse Travel Product o Individual and group media familiarization tours o Sales and media missions to travel trade o Continuous renewal of uk.visitnc.com website • FIT Product o Familiarization tours for tour operators o Direct-to-consumer brand marketing campaign o Airline partnerships Germany • North Carolina’s Diverse Travel Product Individual and group media familiarization tours o Pitch targeted story ideas o Continuous renewal of de.visitnc.com website o Quarterly eNewsletters driving traffic to de.visitnc.com • FIT Product o Direct-to-consumer brand marketing campaign o Airline partnerships Overview The travel trade program implements marketing strategies that target travelers through third-party sellers and travel industry trade suppliers. Third-party sellers include: • Tour Operators • Receptive Operators • Travel Agents • Meeting and Convention Planners • Sports Event Rights Holders Communications Goals • Increase travel to the state by attracting group tours, sporting events, meetings and conventions. • Continue to promote North Carolina as a premier location for sporting events. • Enhance North Carolina as a premier destination in the Southeast for meetings and events through development of an inventory of implemented sustainable practices in the tourism industry. Go to the Group and Event Partner Opportunities page Strategy 1. Target travelers through third-party sellers and travel industry trade suppliers with multiple outreach tactics including trade print, tradeshows and eBlasts. 2. Expand North Carolina online marketing programs on VisitNC.com to encourage group travel in North Carolina. 3. Continue to provide sustainable tourism education and resources for local areas, organizations and event owners. 4. Increase awareness of the Blue Ridge Parkway by co-hosting a familiarization tour for AAA and CAA counselors in partnership with Virginia. 5. Coordinate a domestic sales mission reaching tour operators, tour receptive operators and travel agents in key domestic markets (e.g. Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Florida, Alabama, Arkansas and Georgia). 6. Maintain and make publicly available an inventory of sporting event facilities and potential venues across the state on sportsnc.com. 7. Strengthen the sportsnc.com brand and expand, improve and enhance usability and functionality of sportsnc.com. 8. Build relationships with key event planners and participate in these industry tradeshows: Travel, Events and Management in Sports (TEAMS); Amateur Athletic Union (AAU); United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA); National Softball Association (NSA); and National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). 9. Plan, implement and manage new and timely research to understand conditions of the sports industry in North Carolina and how they relate to tourism. 10. Develop a consistent, technologically innovative way of tracking group tour business in North Carolina. 11. Develop and maintain group tour and sports development contact database. 12. Coordinate, manage and analyze data collection to monitor and measure sports-related visitation to North Carolina Group & Event Travel Comunities & Non-Profits The industry relations program communicates the economic benefits of tourism to North Carolina’s residents, policymakers and media. In addition, it optimizes the coordination and communication among North Carolina’s tourism, film, sports and wine partners, including public agencies, distributors and private sector suppliers. The Industry Relations program develops opportunities for professional education, technical assistance, training and product development. NC Communities and Tourism-Related Nonprofits • Continue the Division’s Tourism Resource Assistance Center Program (TRAC), working with industry partners across the state to promote the benefits of working with the Division to maximize the impact of the business of tourism. • Support sustainable eforts to protect, preserve and promote the state’s natural, historic and cultural resources. • Assist communities market and promote the Civil War Trails Program in anticipation of the events that will surround the 150th anniversary of the Civil War in North Carolina, 2011-2015. Focusing on Slavery and emancipation for 2012- 2013. • Continue collaborations between Dept. of Cultural Resources, including African American Heritage Commission, Southern Campaign of the Revolutionary War Heritage Corridor, Civil War 150th events, Highway to History (Highway 70) and Maritime Heritage (Queen Anne’s Revenge, Blackbeard, etc.). • Provide support for various trails, including African American, Music, Folk Heritage, Homegrown Handmade and Literary as well as supporting the Creative Economy including performing arts and artists throughout NC. • Provide support to the National Heritage Area Designation in Eastern NC 40 county region. • Provide support to the Gullah/Geechee Heritage Corridor efforts. • Encourage greater integration with other Division programs and other state agencies (DENR, Dept. of Agriculture, DOT, etc.). • Develop strategic partnerships with federal, state and local agencies to support sustainable tourism efforts. • Continue participation on the Appalachian Regional Commission’s Tourism Council and its activities. • Work with communities and organizations interested in promoting the growth and development of the tourism programs, product and business in their communities. • Ofer technical assistance or aid in identifying appropriate resources for community initiatives, programs and workshops. • Maintain presence in community development initiatives and ofer technical support for those communities who have identified tourism development as a key strategy (NC STEP and 21st Century Community program, strategic planning, trails development, heritage tourism). • Leverage the state’s marketing eforts by providing assistance with marketing projects at the local level. • Promote the Division’s cooperative marketing programs to communities. • Continue to support and provide technical assistance the efforts of the Whirligig Park project • Work with partners to provide sustainable tourism development education and resources. • Work with partners to promote agritourism eforts and introduce “farmers/fishermen to table” initiative to promote local food product. • Provide marketing opportunities and technical assistance to communities in their eforts to market themselves as retirement destinations, including attending trade shows, such as “AARP’s Life @ 50+,” e-marketing and other opportunities. Industry Relations Partners & Boards • Provide value to North Carolina industry partners/boards by providing high-quality, accurate and timely information including research, reports, information, education, feedback on successful partnerships, outputs and outcomes. • Provide timely information to North Carolina travel industry partners to keep them abreast of policy issues, market trends and programs within the state by hosting the annual North Carolina Governor’s Conference on Tourism and the Mid-Year Marketing Update. • Continue weekly electronic distribution of NewsLink eNewsletter to provide information to keep partners abreast of policy issues, market trends and programs within the state, in addition to reporting media coverage, and study data regarding its usage to maximize its value. • Generate story placement around key Division-sponsored events about the important economic contribution of North Carolina’s tourism industry including visitor spending estimates and industry research, the Governor’s Conference, the release of the Official North Carolina Travel Guide, and Tourism Day. • Monitor legislation and policy issues impacting the state’s tourism, film, sports and wine industries; keep industry partners informed through electronic communications, including emails and nccommerce.com. • Provide media clips of successful public relations eforts to gain earned media in domestic and international publications: • Distribute media clips to industry partners when they are mentioned in stories. • Provide the circulation and advertising value of media clips to industry partners so they can see the economic value of the Division’s efforts. • Produce and electronically distribute a strategic marketing plan and annual report for key industry partners. • Work with partners to develop relevant and applicable pollution prevention and waste minimization tools, such as resource sheets, case studies and financial incentives for the Division’s presence on nccommerce.com. • Ofer a variety of partner programs from print and interactive media to public relations and sweepstakes designed to unify and expand the North Carolina message in a cost-effective manner. • Actively engage the Travel and Tourism Board, the Interagency Tourism Council and other organizations to help support the work of the Division and policy issues that affect the industries served. Citizens, Media & Policymakers • Provide accurate and timely information to the media, citizens and policymakers. Measure, monitor and report outcomes via quality research reports and analyses. • Make key tourism research such as visitor volume; market share; visitor demographics; visitor spending; related jobs, wage and tax revenues; and economic impact figures readily available online or upon request. • Coordinate events during National Tourism Week and North Carolina Tourism Day to emphasize tourism’s important contribution to the state’s economy to the General Assembly, state government and local officials, North Carolina residents and the media. • Make data available that demonstrates tourism’s important contribution to the state’s economy to the General Assembly, state government and local officials, North Carolina residents and the media. • Provide media clips of successful public relations efforts to gain earned media in domestic and international publications: o Distribute these media clips to policymakers and partners providing the circulation and advertising value so they can see the economic value of the Division’s efforts on behalf of their districts. • Continue to coordinate, manage and analyze research with contract organizations to provide critical information about the benefits of tourism to the state’s economy. o The Economic Impact of Travel on North Carolina – Calculates the impact of travel on North Carolina based on visitor expenditures. o Produce and electronically distribute an annual report that outlines results achieved in all program areas. • Support statewide economic development efforts by working with appropriate groups to provide tourism research data • Help educate federal government oficials in Washington, D.C., of the impact of tourism on the North Carolina economy. Inform the policymakers about key legislation important to the tourism industry on a local and national basis and work with the US Travel Association to impact legislation. • Generate story placement around key Division-sponsored events about the important economic contribution of North Carolina’s tourism industry, including visitor spending estimates and industry research, the Governor’s Conference, the release of the Official North Carolina Travel Guide, and Tourism Day. North Carolina Wine Tourism Goals Increase North Carolina wine tourism by increasing awareness of North Carolina wineries and wines, thereby generating more visits and increasing tax revenue for the state. Strategies • Utilize an integrated mix of tactics to promote visitation to North Carolina wineries and AVAs. o Promote North Carolina wineries and increase awareness, interest and visitation through outdoor, print and online advertising. o Enhance, produce and distribute the North Carolina Winery Guide to welcome centers, tourism authorities, wine industry and consumers. o Promote wineries in the North Carolina Travel Guide that is distributed to welcome centers, tourism authorities and consumers. o Offer cooperative advertising and promotional opportunities to winery partners. o Integrate wine news into the Division’s e-newsletters to consumer subscribers. o Regularly refresh and enhance the content on VisitNC. com to provide relevant information to travelers and wine enthusiasts, and improve downstream traffic referrals to winery partner sites. o Develop a mobile website to complement and enhance VisitNC.com for wine travelers. o Utilize VisitNC.com to drive additional traffic to visitncwine.com and act as a resource for more detailed travel-related information including lodging, attractions and events. o Utilize and expand social media to promote North Carolina wine on the VisitNC.com Facebook page and @visitncwine Twitter feed. • Effectively leverage earned media and public relations messaging to influence consumers in key markets to visit North Carolina wineries. o Generate earned media promoting North Carolina wine and wineries in consumer publications. o Distribute wine-themed press releases focusing on North Carolina wine, events and news. o Enhance collateral materials, including press kits and videos, to extend the reach of the public relations campaign consistent with the Division’s marketing goals and messages. o Target and host wine and culinary journalists on media familiarization tours and individual visits to North Carolina wineries. o Host media tasting events, and participate in media missions and various culinary industry meetings. Wine NC Film The mission of the NC Film Office is to Create High-Paying, Quality Jobs by market the entire state as a location for film and commercial production and promoting the use of North Carolina support services and professionals. The Film Office is a client-driven program that services international, out-of- state production companies, in-state production companies, and North Carolina support services and crew. Audiences Motion Picture Studios Film, Television and Commercial Producers Local Film Professionals Goals • Increase spending by film projects while in North Carolina. • Increase the number of film-related projects in North Carolina. • Increase the number of film production days in North Carolina. Strategies • Recruit and support film and television productions as a vital component of the state’s economic development plan to create and maintain jobs and industry support services, increasing film production, film-related expenditures and film industry jobs. o Grow strong and trusted relationships with Hollywood studios and decision-makers through sales missions and participation in Los Angeles-area industry events and well-placed print and online advertising. o Actively market North Carolina’s new 25 percent Motion Picture Incentive. With the new incentive structure, the state’s target market is television series and motion pictures with a budget range of $5 million to $50 million. o Actively recruit the studios’ television and independent divisions as well as independent companies with whom they have relationships. o Focus energy on a myriad of new independent companies emerging outside the studio system and commercial production houses. o Provide assistance to film production companies seeking information about filmmaking in the state. o Assist film scouts within the state and work in cooperation with regional film commissions. o Provide assistance and information as needed while film crews are on location within the state. o Promote the state’s film incentives as a means of securing additional film activity in the state. o Promote the North Carolina film industry through a strategic print, online and promotional campaign. o Anticipate market trends in the industry and also in areas of social responsibility such as educating constituents regarding eco-friendly practices and humane treatment of animals while filming. Film • Provide world-class service to North Carolina’s crew base with citizen-only web portals to post their credentials, learn about upcoming job opportunities and respond to their requests to better enable them to maintain their North Carolina residence and job status. o Maintain and communicate information about local crews, goods, support services and stage space. o Work to increase local infrastructure and build the North Carolina film community. • Track and monitor film activity within the state by capturing data on the impact of film projects on North Carolina and share this accordingly with key stakeholders. Measures include: o Annual economic impact o Intent-to-film forms o Production days o Phone calls to the state o Various marketing reports produced by Reel Scout database • Track and communicate key policy issues that may have impact on filmmaking activity in the state. Go to the Film Partner Opportunities page Go to the NC Regional Film Offices Contacts Directory page An integrated view of the Division of Tourism’s print and digital media calendars are available to download below. Also offered here for download is a current listing of industry events. Download links for Calendars. 2012-2013 Print Media Calendar 2012-2013 Digital Media Calendar 2012-2013 Industry Events Calendar Calendars Partner Co-Op Packages The Division develops and offers NC travel destinations and organizations affordable co-op advertising programs. Cooperative advertising and marketing programs are evaluated and selected based on their ability to effectively and efficiently reach North Carolina’s target consumer. These programs combine paid media placement in a variety of platforms relevant to the Division’s core audience. New for 2012- 2013 are expanded digital display and eBlast co-op programs. The Division also offers customized advertising programs on VisitNC.com with discounts based on volume. Traditional Directory-Style Print Co-ops: Traditional directory-style cooperative print opportunities will be available again in 2012/2013 to round out the areas of partner interest. Individual Reader Service listings for each partner will generate qualified leads from each of the following publications: Travel Meredith 4 page insert: May 2013 • Better Homes and Gardens / Family Circle • Combined Circulation- 1,498,600 (GA, SC Eastern TN, VA, FL) • 12 directory partners, 1 full page partner • Directory partner investment- $5,000 • Full page partner investment- $27,000 Better Homes and Gardens co-op spread: October 2012 • Circulation- 1,031,000 (GA, SC, Eastern TN, VA, FL) • 6 directory partners • Directory partner investment- $4,500 Southern Living co-op spreads: September 2012, May 2013 • Circulation- 1,150,000 (GA, SC, TN, VA, FL) • 6 directory partners (September) • 12 directory partners (May) • Directory partner investment- $4,500 Coastal Living co-op spread: April 2013 • Circulation- 450,000 (Eastern) • 6 directory partners • Directory partner investment- $2,000 O, The Oprah Magazine co-op spreads: October 2012, May 2013 • Circulation- 700,000 (Eastern) • 12 directory partners per run • Directory partner investment- $3,500 Garden & Gun co-op spreads: Aug/Sep 2012, Apr/May 2013 • Circulation- 250,000 (Full run, 80% southeast) • 6 directory partners per run • Directory partner investment- $2,000 Partner Opportunities Outside co-op spreads: September 2012, April 2013 • Circulation- 235,000 (Eastern) • 6 directory partners per run • Directory partner investment- $2,000 Download a media calendar detailing each print co-op opportunity and additional information. Contact: Brooks Luquire brooks.luquire@lgaadv.com 704.552.6565 Crandall Turner crandall.turner@lgaadv.com 704.552.6565 Digital Co-Op Packages Based on the ever-evolving media landscape, a new cooperative program will allow partners to collaborate with the Division and extend collective reach across a strategic mix of online publishers. Each co-branded banner unit will be wrapped in a North Carolina brand message and feature one or multiple partners, depending on the selected buy. All co-branded banners will present user options to drive traffic to respective partner sites as well as VisitNC.com, in which click efficiencies will be monitored to generate maximum performance. Benefits to partners include: • Leveraged buying power through Division and partner collaboration • Strength of shared brands and creative assets • Media services – negotiations and placement • Creative services – concepting, design and development • Campaign management – set-up, trafficking and optimizations • Campaign analytics – robust tracking and reporting The following programs have been structured to offer options that cater to varying partner needs in the form of investment level, publisher type, the number of participating partners, creative format and campaign timing: Casale Media As one of the Division’s strong performers from online Brand campaigns, Casale Media will provide geo-targeted exposure across their leading network of premium-quality sites. Standard creative will feature one partner per monthly flight in conjunction with the North Carolina brand. Investment Details Monthly Partner Investment: $3,000 Per Partner * Estimated Monthly Impressions: 766,667 Per Partner Partner eCPM: $3.91 Media Details # Partners: 1 Partner per Monthly Flight ** Placement: Run-of-Network (RON) Geo-Targets: FL, GA, SC, TN, VA, AL, MD, NJ, NY, OH, PA, TX Sample Sites: FoodNetwork.com, Trails.com, TravelAndLeisure.com, TravelersDigest.com, NBC.com Creative Details Single-Partner Content: 1 Partner Plus VisitNC Brand Creative Format: Standard Creative Creative Units: 160x600, 300x250, 728x90 Madden Media Madden Media is a strategic partner that will provide geo-targeted and demographically-targeted exposure across their network of premium-quality sites. Rich media creative will feature five partners per flight in conjunction with the North Carolina brand. Investment Details Monthly Partner Investment: $6,400 Per Partner * Estimated Monthly Impressions: 2,557,000 Per Partner Partner eCPM: $2.50 Media Details # Partners: 5 Partners per Flight ** Available Flights: April through Mid-May (6 Weeks) Placement: Run-of-Network (RON) Geo-Targets: FL, GA, SC, TN, VA, AL, MD, NJ, NY, OH, PA, TX Sample Sites: Oprah.com, USAToday.com, Accuweather.com, FoxNews.com Creative Details Multi-Partner Content: Up to 5 Partners Plus VisitNC Brand Creative Format: Expandable & Non-Expandable Rich Media Creative Units: Multiple Rich Media Units (Specific Specs TBD) TripAdvisor As one of the world’s largest travel sites, TripAdvisor will provide geo-targeted exposure within its North Carolina Content pages. Rich media creative will feature three partners per monthly flight in conjunction with the North Carolina brand. Investment Details Monthly Partner Investment: $5,500 Per Partner * Estimated Monthly Impressions: 937,500 Per Partner Partner eCPM: $5.87 Media Details # Partners: 3 Partners per Monthly Flight ** Available Flights: August, September, October, March, April, May Placement: North Carolina Content Pages Geo-Targets: FL, GA, SC, TN, VA, AL, MD, NJ, NY, OH, PA, TX Creative Details Multi-Partner Content: Up to 3 Partners Plus VisitNC Brand Creative Format: Rich Media Creative Ad Units: Expandable 300x250, Expandable 970x66 * Partner Investments include the following services: media, creative, campaign management & campaign analytics ** Flights will be sold on a first-come, first-serve basis Co-Op eBlasts Based on the success of themed Co-Op eBlasts, the Division will continue to creatively develop and sell custom cooperative eBlasts, aligning with the four core themes of the year: Outdoor, Culinary, Family and Special Offers. These eBlasts will be sold on an individual basis and are not bundled with print. Participation is available throughout the year at a cost of $1,500 per partner with six partners per eBlasts. Opportunities include: • Family, example lists: We Just Got Back, Meredith Travel, Dunhill Travel etc. Two drops, spring and fall • Outdoor, example lists: InsideOut Media Group, Blue Ridge Outdoors, etc. Two drops, spring and fall • Culinary, example lists: Cooking Light, Food & Wine, etc. Two drops, spring and fall • Special Offers, example lists: Travel-Ticker, Budget Travel, etc. Two drops, spring and fall Theme Example Lists Fall 2012 Spring 2013 Family Meredith Travel, We Just Got Back $1,500 $1,500 Outdoor InsideOut Media Group $1,500 $1,500 Culinary Cooking Light, Food & Wine $1,500 $1,500 Special Offers Travel-Ticker, Budget Travel $1,500 $1,500 Contact: Brooks Luquire brooks.luquire@lgaadv.com 704.552.6565 Crandall Turner crandall.turner@lgaadv.com 704.552.6565 VisitNC.com Programs Consumer interest and traffic to the VisitNC.com family of sites grew more than five percent in 2011 to a record 3.87 million visits. Ongoing site enhancements continue to focus on improving consumer engagement and increasing downstream referrals to partner sites. Advertising opportunities on VisitNC.com continue to expand and are created as a cost-effective outlet to help industry partners extend marketing messages while creating synergy with the North Carolina brand. Below are the VisitNC.com “a la carte” program offerings. If you are interested in multiple programs on VisitNC.com and/or in conjunction with the Division’s print and digital opportunities, please contact Brooks Luquire at brooks.luquire@lgaadv.com or 704.552.6565 to discuss program packages. Display Advertising 2011 Highlights: 120 Display Ads 9,779,921 Impressions 0.61% Average Click-Thru Rate 1. Journey Display Ads There are currently seventeen “main” Journeys on VisitNC.com which provide specific information to visitors based on interests, theme or geographic location. Each “main” Journey is then broken down into sub-Journeys (currently over 80 available) where your display ad would reside within relevant content selected by the partner. Display ads will be optimized to achieve the best results and will also run in an even rotation in related “main” Journeys as added value. 2. Product Page Display Ads Product Pages on VisitNC.com are the locations where visitors can order the Travel Guide, download a brochure, subscribe to a newsletter, download an itinerary or conduct a search. These pages attract an engaged visitor with a clear “intent to travel” and are the most highly trafficked pages on VisitNC.com. There are icons located on every page throughout the site linking visitors to the Product Pages. 3. Exclusive Display Ads Partners have the opportunity to own 100% Share of Voice in a select list of sub-Journeys on VisitNC.com. This opportunity enables partners to rotate up to three display ads within the Journey that will display each time the selected Journey is visited. Exclusive display ads ensure that your message is embedded in content that is relevant to the partner each time it is visited on the site. Pricing Models Duration Sub-Journeys Product Pages Exclusive Annual $3,000 $9,000 $9,000 6 Months $1,500 $5,000 $5,000 3 Months $750 $3,000 $3,000 Note: all pricing includes complimentary ad creation. Virtual Brochures 2011 Highlights: 79 Brochures 65,998 Downloads Partners have the opportunity to expand beyond the traditional distribution of their rack brochures via the Virtual Brochure program on VisitNC.com. Brochures are featured in the highly trafficked “All Brochures” product pages and will receive added value within relevant Journeys, providing multiple touch points for site visitors to instantly download your travel planning content. Time Frame Cost Annual $900 6 Months $550 3 Months $300 Featured Events 2011 Highlights: 124 Featured Events 213,942 Views 27,456 Click-Thrus Tourism partners have the opportunity to call more attention to their events and festivals via VisitNC’s paid advertising placement for featured listings. This cost-effective opportunity enables partners to provide timely event information throughout multiple prominent areas on the site, including the homepage and Journeys. In addition, featured events receive valuable placement in the Division’s weekly events newsletter distributed to over 75,000 subscribers. Featured event listings are available in 30-day increments at a cost of $150 per event. Video 2011 Highlights: 183 Videos 215,736 Total Views Advertorial Videos – The Division offers partners the ability to have advertorial videos produced in a short-format style to be featured on VisitNC.com and on the partner’s site. Partners have dual ownership of the final product with the Division and will receive the following elements on VisitNC.com: • Headline and 50 words of copy directly below the video • Billboard at the end of the video with partner information Advertorial Videos are available for $6,500 per video Special Offers 2011 Highlights: 94 Special Offers 57,808 Offer Views 24,189 Offer Click-Thrus Partners have the opportunity to promote special North Carolina travel offers and packages to interested visitors on the VisitNC homepage, in a dedicated Offers section on the site and throughout relevant Journeys. Partners participating in the Special Offers program will also be included in a monthly e-newsletter distributed out to over 45,000 subscribers. Special Offers are available in 60-day increments at a cost of $250 per offer. Sweepstakes 2011 Highlights: 12 Participating Partners 184,827 Entries 23,738 Leads Generated Partners will continue to have the opportunity to feature sweepstakes promotions on the homepage of VisitNC on a monthly basis. This program continues to be one of the largest drivers of qualified leads for partners on the site based on the premium brand exposure and support that is carried through the site and the Division’s other tools. In addition to display ads driving traffic to the promotion throughout the site, partner sweepstakes are supported by two monthly e-blasts – one distributed to VisitNC’s database of more than 175,000 subscribers and a second paid e-blast to roughly 300,000 subscribers. Homepage Sweepstakes are available monthly at a cost of $3,000 plus the travel prize package. Golf sweepstakes are also available to partners and will be featured on internal golf pages within VisitNC.com for two months and via paid eBlast support. Golf sweepstakes are available at a cost of $2,000 plus the travel prize package. Sponsored eBlasts The Division is now offering partners the opportunity to sponsor their popular eBlasts. Participating partners will be able to communicate their message via prominent display branding within each eBlasts. This is a great new opportunity for partners to reach an engaged audience who have shown interest in learning more about what North Carolina has to offer. Sponsored eBlasts will be sold on a monthly basis at the various costs listed below. eBlasts Distribution List Size Cost NCin3 Monthly (1x) 175,000 $1,000 Featured Events Weekly (4x) 75,000 $1,000 Special Offers Monthly (1x) 45,000 $500 Golf Monthly Monthly (1x) 20,000 $250 Contact: Brooks Luquire brooks.luquire@lgaadv.com 704.552.6565 Crandall Turner crandall.turner@lgaadv.com 704.552.6565 Travel Guide The Division publishes 600,000 Travel Guides annually featuring statewide attractions and accommodation listings, along with contact information for various organizations. Travel Guides are available at the state’s nine Welcome Centers, Visitor Centers, the Division’s Call Center, VisitNC.com and also distributed at targeted travel-related shows. Media advertising rates for the 2013 North Carolina Travel Guide will be posted soon. Contact: Journal Communications (800) 333-8842 Regional Representatives: Mountains Mary Ann Stafford mstafford@jnlcom.com Piedmont Deshaun Goodrich dgoodrich@jnlcom.com Coast Scott vonCannon svoncannon@jnlcom.com Corporate Robin Robertson rrobertson@jnlcom.com Public Relations Division Press Releases The Division’s PR department regularly sends out press releases to media throughout the nation and to outlets in Canada, the UK and Germany. Partners are welcome to submit news on their products and events to be included in releases. Releases are distributed electronically to more than 3,000 media outlets. Newspaper and Calendar editor information Goal: Promote upcoming events and new offerings to short-lead publications such as newspapers and web outlets. Long-lead releases Goal: Promote upcoming events and new offerings to long-lead publications such as magazines. “What’s New” releases Goal: Promote new and upcoming major product additions throughout the state. Press Kit updates Goal: Provide content-based information to media. Media Room on VisitNC.com Media.VisitNC.com, the Division’s media room, contains the most current releases, images and contact information for media outlets. Partners are welcome to submit their press releases for possible inclusion on the site; select releases will be used to fuel the Division’s RSS feeds. Goal: Provide outlet for news releases from partners on media site. North Carolina Photography/Video Throughout the year, the Division shoots updated images of the tourism product throughout the state. Partners are able to host photo shoots and assist with logistical arrangements. Goal: Provide images for media outlets to use in writing about the state. Group Media Trips (Familiarization Tours) The Division’s PR department hosts several group media familiarization tours in North Carolina to generate positive editorial placement. Interested partners can co-host these trips with the Division by coordinating the local hosting of the groups. Trips sponsored by the state must include more than one county and would preferably have three counties represented. German Press Group. UK Press Group Canadian Press Group Domestic Press Groups Individual Media Visits Each year the Division’s PR department hosts more than 50 individual domestic and international journalists in North Carolina to generate positive editorial placement. Interested partners can co-host these individual journalists with the Division by coordinating their local hosting needs. Visits sponsored by the state must include more than one county and would preferably have three counties represented. Goal: Generate editorial coverage in key domestic and international markets. Media Missions The Division will host a media event in a major market each year to educate the media about travel to North Carolina. These missions include a reception where partners can get to know media from the location as well as desk-side visits to other media outlets. Partner costs TBD. Contact: Margo Metzger Public Relations Manager mmetzger@nccommerce.com (919) 733-7420 Visitor Services The state’s nine interstate Welcome Centers, along with the Division’s Inquiry and Fulfillment Centers, comprise Visitor Services. The Division’s nine Welcome Centers promote thousands of tourism-related businesses—attractions, accommodations, events and more—to visitors already in North Carolina who are actively seeking travel information. The Inquiry and Fulfillment Centers, models of efficiency in state government, are housed at the North Carolina Correctional Institute for Women in Raleigh. Inmate telephone operators provide information to consumers considering travel to North Carolina. In addition, they package and distribute the state’s travel publications to potential visitors from around the world. The opportunities listed below have been designated as cooperative initiatives between the Division and Industry Partners. Familiarization Tours for Welcome Center Travel Counselors Goal: To showcase sponsor city or county so Welcome Center travel counselors will have firsthand knowledge to share with visitors. Brochure Distribution Goal: To distribute sponsor’s travel literature to visitors at the nine Welcome Centers. No cost. Audio/Video Presentations Goal: To provide CDs from local musicians or DVDs/VHS tapes promoting tourism destinations in sponsor’s area for audiences at Welcome Centers or for training purposes at the Call Center. No cost. Armchair Familiarization Tours Goal: To showcase sponsor’s city or county to the 1-800-VISIT NC operators at the North Carolina Correctional Institute for Women to keep them abreast of new developments in sponsor’s area. No cost. Division Office Lobby Displays Goal: To temporarily display crafts or other local products at the Division office in Raleigh to showcase North Carolina destinations and activities. No cost. Hands-On Demonstrations/Performances Goal: To have local artisans, dancers or musicians demonstrate their craft or perform in person for travelers at Welcome Centers. No cost. Welcome Center Displays Goal: To temporarily display North Carolina crafts or other local products at Welcome Centers to generate interest among travelers. No cost. Tourism Day Goal: To participate in the individual Welcome Centers’ annual Tourism Day celebrations during National Tourism Week to highlight the importance of the tourism industry in North Carolina and to thank travelers for visiting North Carolina. No cost. Contact Wally Wazan Visitor Services Program Manager (919) 715-2098 wwazan@nccommerce.com International The International Trade Marketing Program includes the development, coordination and implementation of comprehensive tourism marketing strategies in German-speaking markets, the UK and Canada. The program supports all international airline routes and targets both leisure and group tour sales in Europe and Canada through third-party sellers, travel industry trade suppliers and various consumer promotions. The opportunities listed below have been designated as cooperative initiatives between the Division and its industry partners. ITB The whole world meets at ITB Berlin. The combination of trade exhibition, public exhibition and the biggest professional convention worldwide attracts tens of thousands of visitors, exhibitors and media representatives every year. North Carolina will be part of the Deep South and the Carolinas area. Appointments will be made with key tour operators, travel agents and media professionals. UK Sales Mission Events throughout the region to include tour operators, travel agents, consumers and media. The mission will be four days of appointments. U.S. Travel Association’s International Pow Wow U.S. Travel Association’s International Pow Wow is the travel industry’s premier international marketplace and is the largest generator of Visit USA travel. In just three days of intensive pre-scheduled business appointments, more than 1,000 U.S. travel organizations from every region of the USA, representing all industry category components and more than 1,500 international and domestic buyers from more than 70 countries, conduct business negotiations that result in the booking of over $3 billion in future Visit USA travel. For more information on the show, go to www.tia.org. Other International Promotional Opportunities German Sales Mission In each city, tour operator workshops will be scheduled during the day in order to meet key tour operator product managers while the evenings will target travel agents through an interactive training seminar. The mission is scheduled to take four working days. Canadian Sales Mission 4 days of sales calls and events for tour operators, CAA offices and media in Toronto and Montreal. Contact: Heidi Walters International Marketing Manager hwalters@nccommerce.com (919) 715-0672 Group & Event Travel The Travel Trade Development program implements marketing strategies that target travelers through third-party sellers and travel industry trade suppliers. The opportunities listed below have been designated as cooperative initiatives between the Division and its industry partners. Cost TBD. Blue Ridge Parkway Area A/CA Familiarization Tour Date: TBD Place: TBD Domestic Marketing Sales Mission Date: Sept. 24-27, 2012 Place: New Jersey and Pennsylvania The Division encourages economic development through the promotion and recruitment of sporting events across the state involving amateur, collegiate and professional sports organizations. The opportunity listed below has been designated as a cooperative initiative between the Division and its industry partners. TEAMS 2012 (Travel, Events and Management in Sports) Date: TBD Place: TBD Web Site: teamsconference.com Booth space on behalf of North Carolina as a destination has been reserved for this sports trade show and is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Each attendee will be responsible for travel expenses and registration fees. Contact: Kristi Driver Domestic Marketing Manager kdriver@nccommerce.com (919) 733-7413 Tourism Development The Tourism Development program works to develop tourism initiatives statewide, foster sustainable tourism development, and promote economic growth by providing financial, technical and educational assistance to the travel industry. The opportunity listed below has been designated as a cooperative initiative between the Division and its industry partners. Tourism Resource Assistance Center (TRAC ) At each TRAC session, Representatives from the Division will also be on hand to discuss services they can provide businesses including strategic planning, assistance with identifying funding sources, and as liaisons with other local, state, and federal agencies. There is no charge to attend, and no reservation is required. Contact: André Nabors Tourism Development Manager anabors@nccommerce.com (919)733-7502 Eleanor Talley Industry Relations Manager etalley@nccommerce.com (919)733-0869 Research Research Partner Opportunities The opportunity listed below has been designated as a cooperative effort between the Division and its industry partners. VisaVue® Travel Date: Ongoing Partners: CVBs with need for data on international visitors to their destinations Goal: To gather broader and more statistically accurate data regarding international visitors’ travel activity in North Carolina. Contact: Marlise Taylor Director of Research mtaylor@nccommerce.com (919) 733-7278 Film The mission of the Film Office is to promote North Carolina film locations and resources for filmmakers, and effectively assist in fostering movie, television, commercial and new media production to increase jobs and revenue statewide. Listed below are cooperative initiatives between the Division, North Carolina regional film commission affiliates, and industry partners. Association of Film Commissioners International (AFCI) Cineposium Maintain membership with the official professional organization for film commissioners and continue educational development through seminars, training and networking throughout the year. Sundance Film Festival Offers the opportunity to promote North Carolina’s incentives and network at this foremost showcase for independent films. SXSW Offers the opportunity to promote North Carolina’s incentives and network at this foremost showcase for independent film and interactive professionals. AFCI Locations Tradeshow/Producer’s Guild of America More than 300 film commissions worldwide gather at the AFCI’s anchor event in a trade show venue. The North Carolina delegation has the opportunity to connect with more than 1,000 Hollywood film professionals to discuss incentives and locations. Tribeca Film Festival Offers the opportunity to promote North Carolina’s incentives and network at this foremost showcase for independent films. Cannes Film Festival Offers the opportunity to promote North Carolina’s incentives and network at this foremost showcase for international films. Film Sales Missions Meet with leading executives at major Hollywood film and television studios, and also independent filmmakers, to promote North Carolina’s incentives, locations and infrastructure for production in the state. Contact: Aaron Syrett Director, North Carolina Film Office aaron@ncfilm.com (919) 733-9900 Division Office Mailing Address: 4324 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-4324 Shipping Address: 301 N. Wilmington St. Raleigh, NC 27601 Ph: (919) 733-4171 Ph: (919) 733-4172 Fax: (919) 733-8582 Warehouse Fax: (919) 661-4860 Call Center/Inquiry: Ph: 1-800-VISIT NC Fax: (919) 715-3097 Industry website: NCCommerce.com Consumer website: VisitNC.com Administration Lynn Minges Assistant Secretary for Tourism, Marketing & Global Branding (919) 733-4171 lminges@nccommerce.com Amy Berenson Assistant to the Assistant Secretary (919) 733-7550 aberenson@nccommerce.com Bryan Gupton Director of Operations & Industry Relations (919) 733-7552 bgupton@nccommerce.com Wit Tuttell Director of Tourism Marketing (919) 733-7472 wtuttell@nccommerce.com Martha Slate Business Manager (919) 733-7416 mslate@nccommerce.com Juli Cooney Assistant to the Director of Operations (919) 733-7334 jcooney@nccommerce.com Dickens Sanchez Assistant to the Director of Tourism Marketing (919) 715-2091 dsanchez@nccommerce.com Research Marlise Taylor Tourism Research Manager (919) 733-7278 mtaylor@nccommerce.com Sustainable Tourism Alex Naar Coordinator, Sustainable Tourism Outreach (919) 715-3782 anaar@nccommerce.com Community Relations and Outreach Karen Mann Community Outreach Manager (919) 715-1034 kmann@nccommerce.com Eleanor Talley Industry Relations Manager (919) 733-0869 etalley@nccommerce.com Public Relations Margo Metzger Public Relations Manager mmetzger@nccommerce.com (919) 733-7420 Suzanne Brown Public Relations Program Assistant (919) 715-6703 sbrown@nccommerce.com North Carolina Division of Tourism, Film & Sports Development Directories Bill Russ Photographer (919) 733-7242 bruss@nccommerce.com Domestic/International Travel Contacts Domestic Marketing/Group Sports/Sports Kristi Driver Group Travel Manager (919) 733-7413 kdriver@nccommerce.com International Marketing Heidi Walters Manager of International Marketing (919) 715-6702 hwalters@nccommerce.com Canada Charmaine Singh Vision Co. Vice President (416) 341-2474 ext. 252 99 Blue Jays Way Suite 300 Toronto, CA M5V9G9 charmaines@visioncompanies.com Germany Rita Hille Managing Director Wiechmann Tourism Service 011-49-69-25538-0 Scheidswaldstr. 73 D-60385 Frankfurt am Main rita@weichmann.de United Kingdom Sam Hancock Account Manager Hills Balfour Synergy Colechurch House, 1 London Bridge Walk, London, SE1 2SX Ph: 011-44-20-7367-0900 Fax: 011-44-20-7407-3810 samuelh@hillsbalfoursynergy.com Publications/Extranet Contacts Kathy Prickett Publications Manager (919) 733-8302 kprickett@nccommerce.com Nicolle Jones Database Manager (919) 733-7501 njones@nccommerce.com Wine Tourism Contact Justin Furr Director of Wine & Grape Marketing and Development (919) 715-9463 (919) 715-WINE Fax: (919) 733-8582 jfurr@nccommerce.com North Carolina Film Contacts Aaron Syrett North Carolina Film Office Director (919) 733-5016 asyrett@nccommerce.com Guy Gaster Production Services Executive (919) 715-2958 ggaster@nccommerce.com Cheryl Mauro Assistant to the Film Office Director (919) 715-7517 cmauro@nccommerce.com Physical Address: North Carolina Film Office 301 N. Wilmington Street Raleigh, North Carolina USA 27601 Mailing Address: North Carolina Film Office 4324 Mail Service Center Raleigh, North Carolina USA 27699-4324 (919) 733-9900 Fax: (919) 715-0151 Tourism Development André Nabors Tourism Development Manager (919) 733-7502 anabors@nccommerce.com Visitor Services Wally Wazan Visitor Services Program Manager (919) 715-2098 wwazan@nccommerce.com Cynthia Ferguson Visitor Services Program Assistant (919) 733-7479 cferguson@nccommerce.com Larry Strickland Warehouse Supervisor Phone: (919) 662-4493 Fax: (919) 661-4860 Physical Address: 3221 Durham Dr. Raleigh, NC 27603 lstrickland@nccommerce.com Inquiry Jade Feliciano Fulfillment Supervisor 919) 715-5759 jfeliciano@nccommerce.com Teresa Smith Toll-Free Operator Supervisor (919) 715-5900 tlsmith@nccommerce.com Sports Development Contacts Chuck Hobgood (919) 361-1133, Ext. 5 Physical Address: 301 N. Wilmington St. Raleigh, NC 27601 Mailing Address: 4324 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-4324 chuck.hobgood@ncsports.org Travel & Tourism Board 2012 Member Contact List Josh Bass Currituck Chamber of Commerce Term Ends: 12/31/2012 Apptd By: House Speaker Sabrina Bengel City of New Bern Term Ends: 12/31/2012 Apptd By: Senate President Pro Tempore Rolf Blizzard, Chairman Turnpike Properties Term Ends: Ex Officio Apptd By: NC T&T Coalition Chris Cavanaugh Magellan Strategy Group Term Ends: Governor’s Term Apptd By: Governor Robert “Randy” Cobb Abercrombie Oil Co., Inc. Term Ends: 12/31/2013 Apptd By: NC Petroleum Marketers Assn. Secretary J. Keith Crisco NC Department of Commerce Term Ends: Ex Officio (Non-Voting) Apptd By: NC Dept. of Commerce Teresa Damiano Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority Term Ends: 12/31/2010 Apptd By: Senate President Pro Tempore S. Lewis Ebert NC Chamber Term Ends: Ex Officio Apptd By: NC Chamber Denny Edwards Greater Raleigh CVB Term Ends: 12/31/2013 Apptd By: DMANC Rep. Phillip Haire NC House of Representatives Term Ends: 12/31/2012 Apptd By: House Speaker Rep. Susi Hamilton NC House of Representatives Term Ends: 12/31/2012 Apptd By: House Speaker Sen. Ralph Hise North Carolina Senate Term Ends: 12/31/2012 Apptd By: Senate President Pro Tempore Kimberly “Kim” Hufham Wilmington and Beaches CVB Term Ends: Ex Officio Apptd By: NCTIA Chris Humphrey Allstate Insurance / ERA Humphrey Realty Group Term Ends: 12/31/2012 Apptd By: Senate President Pro Tempore Vimal Kolappa East Coast Hospitality, LLC Term Ends: Governor’s Term Apptd By: Governor John Randal “Randy” Kolls Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club Term Ends: 12/31/2013 Apptd By: NCRLA Donna Carpenter Cabarrus CVB Term Ends: 12/31/2013 Apptd By: DMANC Lynn Minges NC Department of Commerce Term Ends: Ex Officio (Non-Voting) Apptd By: NC Dept. of Commerce Robert M. O’Halloran East Carolina University Term Ends: 12/31/2013 Apptd By: NCRLA Davin Olsen Gale Force Sports & Entertainment/Carolina Hurricanes Term Ends: 12/31/2012 Apptd By: House Speaker Sen. Jean Preston North Carolina Senate Term Ends: 12/31/2012 Apptd By: Senate President Pro Tempore Lynn Lewis Washington TDA Term Ends: 12/31/2013 Apptd By: NCTIA Joan H. Pulley Carteret County Chamber of Commerce Term Ends: 12/31/2012 Apptd By: House Speaker James “Jamie” Reibel Sargasso Travels’, Inc., Phideaux Fishing Term Ends: 12/31/2011 Apptd By: NCWU Leonard Rigsbee Cap-N-Squid Boatworks Term Ends: 12/31/2011 Apptd By: NCWU Tom Ruff The Biltmore Company Term Ends: 12/31/2011 Apptd By: NCRLA Susan Spangler The Greensboro Carousel Term Ends: Governor’s Term Apptd By: Governor Steve Thanhauser The Angus Barn Term Ends: 12/31/2013 Apptd By: NCRLA Mitzi York Brunswick County Tourism Development Authority Term Ends: 12/31/2013 Apptd By: DMANC Welcome Center Managers Margaret Ritchey I-26 East Welcome Ctr. Manager Physical Address: I-26 at Mile Marker 68 Columbus, NC 28722 Mailing Address: PO Box 249 Columbus, NC 28722 (828) 894-2120 mritchey@nccommerce.com Vickie Sealock I-26 West Welcome Ctr. Manager Physical Address: I-26 at Mile Marker 6 Mars Hill, NC 28754 Mailing Address: PO Box 1210 Mars Hill, NC 28754 (828) 689-4257 vsealock@nccommerce.com Tina Evans I-40 West Welcome Ctr. Manager Physical Address: I-40 at Mile Marker 10 Waynesville, NC 28786 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 809 Waynesville, NC 28786 (828) 627-6206 tevans@nccommerce.com Oma Boyd I-77 North Welcome Ctr. Manager Physical Address: I-77 at Mile Marker 105 Dobson, NC 27017 Mailing Address: PO Box 1066 Dobson, NC 27017 (336) 320-2181 oboyd@nccommerce.com Louie Comer I-77 South Welcome Ctr. Manager Physical Address: I-77 at Mile Marker 1 Charlotte, NC 28241-0724 Mailing Address: PO Box 410724 Charlotte, NC 28241 (704) 588-2660 ccomer@nccommerce.com Mary Perkinson I-85 North Welcome Ctr. Manager Physical Address: I-85 at Mile Marker 231 Norlina, NC 27563 Mailing Address: PO Box 156 Norlina, NC 27563 (252) 456-3236 mperkinson@nccommerce.com Linda Cabaniss I-85 South Welcome Ctr. Manager Physical Address: I-85 at Mile Marker 2 Kings Mountain, NC 28086 Mailing Address: 5 Northbound I-85 Kings Mountain, NC 28086 (704) 937-7861 lcabiness@nccommerce.com Frieda Day I-95 North Welcome Ctr. Manager Physical Address: 1 I-95 Southbound Hwy Pleasant Hill, NC 27866 Mailing Address: PO Box 52 Roanoke Rapids, NC 27870 (252) 537-3365 fday@nccommerce.com Kat Littleturtle I-95 South Welcome Ctr. Manager Physical Address: I-95 at Mile Marker 5 Rowland, NC 28383 Mailing Address: Box 999 Rowland, NC 28383 (910) 422-8314 klittleturtle@nccommerce.com Marketing Partners Advertising, Public Relations & VisitNC.com Directory Luquire George Andrews (LGA) 4201 Congress Street, Suite 400 Charlotte, NC 28209 (704) 552-6565 (phone) (704) 552-1972 (fax) www.lgaadv.com Client Services Peggy Brookhouse President / Partner brookhouse@lgaadv.com Scott Gilmore VP, Management Supervisor scott.gilmore@lgaadv.com Brooks Luquire Senior Account Executive brooks.luquire@lgaadv.com Jane Duncan Senior Account Executive jane.duncan@lgaadv.com Interactive Lisa Enders Account Executive lisa.enders@lgaadv.com Gretchen Voth Social Media/Public Relations gretchen.voth@lgaadv.com Partner Programs Crandall Turner Partner Programs Manager crandall.turner@lgaadv.com Public Relations Maureen Haley Account Supervisor maureen.haley@aboutdci.com Karyl Leigh Barnes Senior Vice President/Partner karyl.barnes@aboutdci.com North Carolina Travel Guide Journal Communications, Inc. 725 Cool Springs Blvd Suite 400 Franklin, TN 37067 Ph: (615) 771-0080 or 800-333-8842 Fax: (615) 771-0079 Susan Chappell Vice President/Travel Publishing schappell@jnlcom.com Scott Templeton Senior Vice President/Business Development stempleton@jnlcom.com Jarek Swekosky Vice President/Sales jswekosky@jnlcom.com Robin Robertson Senior Integrated Media Manager rrobertson@jnlcom.com Mary Ann Stafford Executive Integrated Media Manager mstafford@jnlcom.com Deshaun Goodrich Senior Integrated Media Manager dgoodrich@jnlcom.com Scott vonCannon Integrated Media Manager svoncannon@jnlcom.com County Contacts Click here to download the North Carolina 100 County Contact Directory. Film Contacts North Carolina Regional Film Offices Directory Charlotte Regional Film Commission Beth Petty, Director 550 South Caldwell Street, Suite 760 Charlotte, North Carolina 28202 USA Ph: (704) 347-8942 Fax: (704) 347-8981 bpetty@charlottefilm.com www.charlotteusa.com Triangle Research Film Commission Rob Shoaf P.O. Box 13041 Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 Ph: (919) 682-2222 Fax: (919) 682- 3322 triangleregionalfilm@gmail.com www.durham-nc.com/film Eastern NC Film Commission Frank Dooley, Director c/o IBX Ventures 740 Greenville Blvd. Suit 400 #175 Greenville, NC 27858 Ph: (252) 531-4012 fdooley@filmeast.net www.filmeast.net/portal/news.php Piedmont Triad Film Commission Rebecca Clark, Director 7025 Albert Pick Drive, Suite 303 Greensboro, NC 27409 Ph: (336) 393-0001 Fax: (336) 668-3749 rebecca@piedmontfilm.com www.piedmontfilm.com Western NC Film Commission Pam Lewis 134 Wright Brothers Way Fletcher, NC 28732 Ph: (828) 687-7234 Fax: (828) 687-7552 film@awnc.org www.wncfilm.com Wilmington Regional Film Commission Johnny Griffin, Director 1223 North 23rd Street Wilmington, NC 28405 Ph: (910) 343-3456 Fax: (910) 343-3457 jgriffin@wilmingtonfilm.com www.wilmingtonfilm.com Wine Contacts North Carolina Wine Directory Administration Justin Furr Director of Wine Marketing 919-715-9463 Fax: 919-733-8582 jfurr@nccommerce.com Physical Address: 301 N. Wilmington St. Raleigh, NC 27601 Mailing Address: 4324 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-4324 Consumer website: VisitNCwine.com Vinifera Advisory Committee Ed Cook Chair Term: 9/1/11-8/31/12 Director Wine & Beer, Harris Teeter Jerry Douglas Term: 9/1/11-8/31/12 President, Biltmore Winery Mark Friszolowski Term: 9/1/11-8/31/13 Winemaker/General Manager, Childress Vineyards Buddy Norwood Term: 9/1/11-8/31/13 Senior VP Administration, Shelton Vineyards Karen Ray Vice Chair Term: 9/1/11-8/31/13 Former NC House Rep. 95th district, Iredell County Muscadine Advisory Committee Bill Hatcher Term: 9/1/11-8/31/13 Vice President, Duplin Wine Cellars Bob Hinnant Term: 9/1/11-8/31/12 Owner, Hinnant Family Vineyards Phil Nordan Chair Term: 9/1/11-8/31/13 Owner, Treehouse Vineyards Dan Smith Vice Chair Term: 9/1/11-8/31/13 Owner, Cypress Bend Vineyards William Yost Term: 9/1/11-8/31/12 Owner, Cauble Creek Vineyards |
OCLC number | 53228010 |